The Great Hunt
by Kurogane7
Summary: After flunking his first year at the Ninja Academy, Naruto is sent to Hunters for training. Now he comes back, ready to survive in the wilderness and the shinobi world. Now he wants to hunt the strongest monster in the world, before becoming Hokage. How will the world change with the appearance of the first Shinobi-Hunter? Rated T for now.
1. A Second Chance

_**A/N: Greetings, all.**_

 _ **As you can see, you've a brand-new Naruto crossover story; this time, it's straight-up Monster Hunter.**_

 _ **Per my usual pattern, the pilot episode will be shorter compared to the rest of the chapters, and interest in the story will make it more likely for a new chapter to crop up. With any luck, that fight between Naruto and the Kirin may one day happen here. So please, do not hesitate to comment.**_

 _ **In any case, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato]

Hiruzen took a deep drag of his pipe, savouring the flavour of the tobacco as it passed into his lungs. It had been a very hard day, and he needed to calm down after the reports he'd received throughout the week. The stacks of paperwork he had on his desk were divided into two categories. One stack was the number of incidents one Uzumaki Naruto had caused throughout the school year. The other had ill-fated mission reports, with a few unsigned death certificates for good measure. A good number of them were mission-related; some from combat with humans, others from animal attacks in the wilderness. _Oh, how I wish I could just burn that one down..._

Reports of tragic conflicts with wildlife were an uncommon occurrence. Once in a while, Hiruzen had heard of children getting lost in the forest, then cornered by opportunistic Jaggi packs. Then there was that incident where a shinobi team was nearly wiped out after crossing paths with an ill-tempered Zinogre. As a matter of fact, when Hiruzen was a genin, he and his team were almost killed in a fierce battle between a Glavenus and a Rathalos.

Were it not for the Hunter's Guild setting up branches in all the major villages, the Shinobi would've been swamped with work dealing with all these monster cases. Because of this, there was an unspoken agreement wherein the Shinobi would deal with human-related missions and the Hunters handled monster cases. It was an agreement that had been in place since during the Clan Wars; _after_ the Clan Wars, each Kage had independently reached an agreement with the Guild. In exchange for letting them do business in their villages, the Hunters were to explore and keep the wilderness safe. In addition to their prey, this involved keeping an eye out for illegal immigrants, bandits and the odd poacher on their forays into the wilds.

The problem, however, lay in the resulting contempt that Hunters and Shinobi held for each other. A lot of the worse Hunters saw Shinobi as nothing but a bunch of money-hungry cowards and backstabbing scumbags. On the other side of the scale, Sarutobi knew of Shinobi that viewed Hunters as meat-headed lunatics and glorified park rangers. That being said, the two groups _would_ collaborate if their missions overlapped, such as having a Hunter as a guide to help clear out bandits or helping a Shinobi team escape a monster-related predicament.

Letting out a deep sigh, Hiruzen breathed out a thick plume of smoke before taking another drag of his pipe. He thought of how two younger friends of his, a brother-sister duo, survived a Bazelgeuse bombing run long enough to drive the beast away from a Shinobi patrol. Overall, Hunters like them inspired him to come up with a solution to help alleviate the tensions between Hunters and Shinobi.

Hiruzen was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard the buzz of the intercom on his desk. "Hokage-sama?" asked the secretary.

"What is it, Aya?" sighed Hiruzen, pressing the response button.

"Uzumaki Naruto's here to see you, sir."

Hiruzen let out another puff of smoke. "Well, let him in."

The elderly Kage massaged his temples as a fit, golden-haired boy entered his office. The blue eyes and whisker-marks on his cheeks marked him as Uzumaki Naruto, with a sheepish expression on his face. He was the reason the Hiruzen had more than his fair share of headaches; and strangely enough, he was also the subject of an experiment he had on mind.

"What am I going to do with you, Naruto?" he asked, sighing exasperatedly, "I had you join the Academy to make your pranking happen _less_ often. Instead, you've been skipping class to prank _more_ throughout the year. Have anything to say for yourself?"

"Uh, it was fun?" Naruto responded nervously.

"Well, I hope that year of fun was worth it, because you've just earned yourself a first strike," Hiruzen deadpanned, "You've spent so much time prancing about the village with your practical jokes that you flunked your first year of school. Do that two more years, and I won't stop Iruka from refusing you your headband. You _do_ realize what that means, right?"

As he watched Naruto fidget in place, Hiruzen had hoped that the severity of the situation would sink into the boy's head. "The Academy was established to teach a new generation of Shinobi; after the Kyūbi attack, we can't afford a Shinobi who does nothing but skip class to fool around all day. And if this is what I see happening for two more years, then maybe I should save you the trouble of re-enrolling, and just ban you from ever becoming a Shinobi—you don't even deserve a chance to be Hokage."

Watching the boy sweat with fear was both heartbreaking and mildly cathartic, but it needed to be done. "On the other hand, I think I know of a way for you to make this up to me for wasting tax money; and all you'd have to do is work on your pranks." As he said that, Naruto's ears perked with curiosity. "What I'm going to share with you is an idea I'd had for a while now…"

Hiruzen was interrupted when Aya buzzed him on the intercom. "Hokage-sama, someone is here to see you."

"Speak of the devil," he muttered, before pressing a button on his desk, "Send him in."

The door opened to allow passage for a tall man with reddish-brown skin and creamy white hair to duck under the threshold. He wore a segmented breastplate with steel splints protecting his shoulders, a pair of knee guards, and a gray fur cloak around his neck. Strapped across his back was a large, shiny rock attached to a long, metal stick with leather wrapped in the middle of the shaft. He also had a large knife holstered at the small of his back.

There were a number of impressive scars on his well-muscled body, and he looked about the room with a pair of russet eyes. What made him look even more intimidating was the short, scruffy beard that gave the impression of an old alpha lion still his prime. Overall, he had the look of a Kaminari man that had seen more than his fair share of combat. "You called for me, Hokage-sama?" he asked.

"Yes, Mangetsu, I've got a request for you," answered Hiruzen, "Why don't you and your sister put Naruto through Hunter training?"

The man named Mangetsu stared at Hiruzen as though he'd grown a second head. "You can't be serious."

"I know I'm asking a lot, but just get him through the training to at least get a Hunting License," Hiruzen stated, "Your workload will be a _lot_ easier; this boy _really_ likes his pranks."

Mangetsu looked at Naruto with an interested smirk on his face. "Does he now? Well, it seems he'd fit right in with us Hunters."

"Wait a minute, you're sending me to the Hunters?"

"Since you've skipped out on Iruka's survival lessons, this is the best opportunity for you to pick up the slack on that end," Hiruzen admonished, replacing the tobacco in his pipe, "What's the point if you go out into the wilderness and you died eating a poisoned berry before you even get promoted?" As he spoke, he lit the pipe. "Besides, it's an experiment to see if it makes any difference that a student was trained as a Hunter before they became a Shinobi; and to see if they _can_ be good Shinobi in the first place."

Naruto gulped at the prospect. The idea that his fate was in the hands of the Hunter Guild seemed to have sunk in. "On a lighter note, I guarantee you'll like being with them; Hunters get to set up pranks all day long, only on monsters in the wilderness."

That bit of good news had brought up Naruto's spirits. "So what do you say? By learning under the Hunters, not only will you make it up to me, but you'll have a good time out of it too."

A warm, hopeful smile found its way on Naruto's face. "When do we start?"

"We start tomorrow morning," explained Mangetsu, "I need to get some stuff ready at the Hunting Lodge, so you're meeting me at Nyan-town."

…

[Nyan-town, the next morning]

Naruto sat at the entrance to the Felyne district's farmer's market, observing the hustle and bustle of people looking at the fresh produce. Oftentimes, he would see people looking for fresh vegetables, as well as a few Lynian chefs picking out ingredients for the night. As a matter of fact, Nyan-town was home to a lot of Felynes, and even a few Grimalkynes and Melynxes could be seen walking the streets in the small part of town.

Throughout the market, Naruto saw people from all backgrounds browsing the wares sold by shopkeepers both human and feline. Most of the clientele were chefs looking for A-grade ingredients to make really good dishes, or laymen with a preference for fresh food. He saw a Felyne farmer taking orders from a well-dressed man over something. At the same time he'd spotted an Inuzuka clansman arguing with a Melynx shopkeep…something about jerky.

As far as Naruto could remember, Nyan-town had always been around since the founding of Konoha. Where there were Hunters, there were Felynes; this was because they had better relations with the Hunters than they did Shinobi. Felyne Palicoes had often accompanied Hunters as chefs, or battle support━it was rare to see them with a Shinobi team, due to their perceived uselessness.

"We ready?" asked a voice behind, startling Naruto. The boy whirled around to find Mangetsu standing behind him, a smirk on his face.

Naruto took a moment to catch his breath from the scare. "You got what you needed?"

"Yeah, I've made arrangements with my sister," answered Mangetsu, silently beckoning for him to follow, "Don't worry, you'll be meeting her soon enough."

"So what do we gotta do to get me that Hunting…whatchamacallit?" Naruto asked, struggling to catch with the larger man, "I _really_ wanna get back to the Ninja Academy fast, so I can be Hokage someday."

Mangetsu scoffed. "The license? Well, that all depends on what I see from you. Assuming you give me trouble teaching you, it should take up to two years to get you a license."

"What if I just wanted to be the best trap-maker among the Hunters?" asked Naruto, "How much time would that take?"

"Heh, that's funny," Mangetsu answered, matter-of-factly, "My sister's the best trap-maker I know; she'd mop the floor with you in seconds with the traps she can set. If _I_ were to teach you, it'd take _at least_ ten years to get you to her level."

Grumbling in frustration with the answers he was getting, Naruto changed the subject. "And if I wanted to be the best hunter in the world as soon as possible?"

"Then it'd take _twenty_ years," Mangetsu replied, not even bothering to smirk.

Naruto suddenly stopped, making Mangetsu pause in turn, regarding him with an amusement. "I don't understand, first you say two years, then ten, then twenty dattebayo! Why is it taking so much time to do this?! How can I do this in the shortest amount of time?!"

"Then you'd be taking seventy years," answered Mangetsu evenly, stunning Naruto to silence, "Naruto, have you ever thought that maybe -just maybe- you'd get what you wanted sooner if you'd just settle down and actually _listen_ to your teacher? Instead of wasting time and money running around, pulling pranks for attention from everyone like an idiot?"

Naruto stared at the older Hunter as though he'd grown a second head. "Yeah, I know why you pulled those pranks," Mangetsu continued, "Iruka pulled more than his fair share on me and my sister when he was about your age. But eventually, even Iruka figured it was time to get serious…which is what _you_ need to do someday, if you want to be a shinobi, if not Hokage."

Gently putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder, Mangetsu's voice softened. "The Hokage thinks you can't survive in the wilderness, much less the Shinobi life, so prove him wrong. The people just ignoring you or looking down on you? Then _earn_ their respect by showing us that you have what it takes to be a good Hunter. But above all, show _yourself_ that if all else fails, you can survive."

Thinking on what he'd been told, Naruto had come to the conclusion that maybe he was right; perhaps it _was_ time to get serious.

…

[Hokage Tower]

Hiruzen gazed into his crystal ball as Naruto and Mangetsu left the village limits. As they walked into the woods, the older man explained to Naruto the basics of what he needed to survive out in the wilderness. They were things that outdoorsmen of all molds adhered to like a sutra.

Overall, it looked like the Moon Siblings were going to beat the survival instinct into Naruto's mind even if it killed him. How they were going to do it was the question of the day. _With any luck, you'll come to your senses by the time you come back,_ Hiruzen thought to himself.

"Hiruzen!" called a voice outside the office. Sure enough, in walked a one-armed man with a cane. Half his face was bandaged, allowing a bush of graying black hair to splay everywhere. It was a visage the old Kage was more familiar with than he liked.

"Danzo," responded the Hokage, "What brings you to my office at this hour, as if I didn't know?"

"I understand you're sending the Jinchūriki to be taught by Hunters," stated the old man, "Are you certain that's a wise idea?"

"I simply wanted to try something new with him," answered Hiruzen matter-of-factly, "I was hoping that if he was so keen on being a shinobi, he'd learn to take it more seriously. And what better way to show him the importance of basic survival instinct, than to have him learn under Hunters?"

Danzo scoffed. "If you wanted him to learn basic survival instinct, you should've sent him to me; no need for those glorified park rangers to be involved."

"And let him become some mindless drone you can throw away?" Hiruzen admonished, stuffing more tobacco into his pipe, "No, between you and the Hunters over Naruto's education, I'd trust the Hunters any day. At least he'll learn to be more useful under their tutelage and beyond; and barring that, we can always keep him as a Hunter to help keep the wilderness safe."

"You tell yourself that," Danzo groused, turning to leave, "You're handing pearls to swine, I say."

"By the way, Danzo, don't bother trying anything with Naruto," Hiruzen warned, as his old friend left the office, "I've got eyes on him, and the Moon Siblings are going to teach him."

As Danzo angrily slammed the door behind him, Hiruzen turned his attention back to the crystal ball. "No way _in hell_ are you laying a finger on Naruto, Danzo," he mused to himself, " _Especially_ not if Mangetsu and his sister are there."

…

 _ **A/N: And there we have it; this time, the Shinobi will have to deal with creatures from the Monster Hunter universe. Why the Hunters are necessary when we have Shinobi, we'll get into later. But for now, please review, would you kindly?**_

 _ **Also, props to NorthSouthGorem for looking this chapter over. Go and give his stories a read.**_


	2. Hunters

_**A/N: And now you have yourselves a longer chapter.**_

 _ **At the moment, it'll be hard to update as I'm on a road trip through a number of US national parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, even the Grand Canyon. Not a lot of souvenirs except the photos I take.**_

 _ **That being said, please read and review, would you kindly?**_

…

[Somewhere in the Hi no Kuni wilderness]

Naruto and Mangetsu came to a stop in a clearing to see a woman sitting on a log, whittling at a large branch. She had the same russet eyes as the older man, and wore white tribal paint all over her body, which added contrast to light reddish brown skin. Her creamy hair was done up in dreadlocks that were tied behind her head. She also wore a minimal amount of armor over scant scale clothing that enabled more mobility for her, while emphasizing her modest curves. A subtle hourglass figure, modestly-sized breasts and buttocks all accentuated with a streamlined form.

As he studied the woman before him, Naruto could not help but notice the subtle similarities between her and Mangetsu in that both had feline features. Mangetsu looked like a big, strong lion; his tall, muscular body enforced that image. It also helped that he wore proper armor that allowed him to take a hit without compromising on mobility. His hammer also served to strengthen the image of someone not to be trifled with.

This woman on the other hand, was shorter, sleeker, and overall built for speed. Her choice of weapon looked like a technologically-advanced crossbow propped up against the log, while a pair of large cleavers with bone blades were holstered at her sides. Dense, corded muscle rippled lightly under her skin, adding a spring to her movements. If Mangetsu were a lion, then _she_ would be something like a cheetah or a leopard.

"About time you both got here," she said, her gaze focused upon the branch she was sharpening, "I was beginning to worry you'd gotten lost or something."

"Better late than never," answered Mangetsu.

"Indeed," added the woman, setting down her sharpened branch, "Well, let's get to it."

"Naruto, I'd like for you to meet my younger sister Mikazuki," Mangetsu said, "Mikazuki, this is Uzumaki Naruto. The Hokage's sent him to train under us."

"A pleasure," said Mikazuki, offering Naruto her free hand to shake.

Naruto accepted the handshake before regarding his erstwhile teacher. "So what're we gonna do now?"

"We're on patrol out here for a while," answered Mangetsu, "Mikazuki and I are gonna make our rounds in the wilderness while _you_ set up camp for us. If you manage to make three tents before we come back for a rest, then we'll share our dinner with you."

"What happens if I don't?" asked Naruto.

"Then we won't eat until those tents are finished," Mikazuki added.

"That's no problem," Naruto declared, "I'll just head back to the village and…"

Whatever else Naruto had to say was cut off the second Mikazuki threw her knife at him, the tip digging into the ground before his feet. "Don't even think about it," she said, her tone even, "There's no guarantee that the camping store has what you need. Besides, the point of this exercise is to see what we have to work with for the next few months. Making tents, and setting up camp is a very basic thing that both Shinobi and Hunters need to know; if you can't even do _that_ right, then there's no point in teaching you anything else."

"You have a lot of materials around you to help you make tents," explained Mangetsu, stretching his back, "Thick branches, dogbane bark, even leaves can be used. Whatever you need is already around you; we're not asking you to make a log cabin, just use that head of yours to figure out how to make an adequate shelter for us by the time we get back."

Looking around, Naruto could see the things in question, trying to figure out how he would solve the problem with the items on hand. "Can't I at least go buy some more tools at the hardware store?"

"I already gave you the _only_ tool you'd need out here," Mikazuki answered, pointing the knife in the ground, "When you're out in the wilderness, there's nothing that a good camp knife _can't_ do. Carving stakes for fences, skinning and gutting your game, splitting firewood, hammering nails; hell, you could even have a…civil chat with it."

"Mika, that knife fight with Kirishima was _far_ from civil," Mangetsu reminded, "Not only did you kick him in the shin, you then proceeded to knee him in the balls, followed with biting his ear off."

Staring at his other teacher with fear in his eyes as she coughed into her hand, Naruto made a mental note to never get on her bad side. "The point is, Naruto, that knife is gonna be your new best friend out here," she said, "I would take the time to get used to it, and take good care of it."

"We'll try to be back by tonight," added Mangetsu, "In the meantime, try to set up camp for us."

Watching as the brother-sister duo disappeared into the woods, Naruto pulled the knife out of the ground to examine it. It was almost as long as his forearm with a burl wood grip that was held in place with brass pins and bolsters. The single-edged blade was sharp, thick, and it had a wood grain pattern on it. After giving it a few test swings, he saw that it was a little forward-heavy, possibly to do the work of both a hatchet and a knife at the same time.

Gripping the knife, Naruto picked up the thick branch that Mikazuki carved on, before hammering it into the ground with the pommel. _I've got a lot of work to do, if I'm gonna impress those two…_

…

[Elsewhere]

Three ANBU stood by, watching from a distance as Uzumaki Naruto worked alone at his task. With the boy's focus on his knife, it would be an easy grab-especially with his mentors no longer in the vicinity.

Shizuoka Mangetsu and Mikazuki, better-known as the "Moon Siblings" were a brother-sister Hunter team born and raised in Konoha. Their mother was a chūnin named Shizuoka Maiya, and their father was a Hunter from Kumogakure. Both had to deal with a good amount of prejudice in the village due to their biracial origins, but would grow up to become celebrities in the Guild.

Mangetsu was the older one at 36, and the calmer and wiser of the duo. He was a Heavy Weapons specialist in the Guild, favoring his hammer for bashing in monster skulls. That being said, he was not averse to picking up a bow or a heavy bowgun to shoot down flying prey.

Mikazuki on the other hand was more energetic of the siblings at 27. Where Mangetsu favored heavy weapons, she took to faster and lighter ones. However, she was best known for being a nitō-ryu fighter, and a crack shot with a light bowgun. She was also a tactical thinker, which enabled her to set traps on the fly; the complete opposite to her brother's strategic approach.

The ANBU had heard stories during the Third Shinobi World War of how formidable they were; how they used their traps to prevent incursions into Hi no Kuni. Then there was also that story in which they'd survived a Bazelgeuse bombing run and drove it away from a Konoha patrol team that had unknowingly angered it.

On top of that, they had a keen sense of environmental awareness that aided them in their hunts. There was a story wherein they'd baited a Rathalos into attacking a squad of twelve Iwa-nin during the Fourth Shinobi World War. None of the infiltrators survived the wyvern's attack.

Still, the team had their orders; they were to abduct Uzumaki Naruto if the opportunity arose, or terminate him with extreme prejudice if none came. The lead ANBU raised a hand, ready to move in; before he could make a single gesture, he was interrupted by a muffled groan of pain from behind. He found Mangetsu behind them, pulling a large knife out of his colleague's back, before stabbing him four more times through the rib cage. His arm wrapped around the ANBU's neck.

In response to the sudden ambush, the remaining ANBU pulled out their cleaver-tanto, ready to defend themselves. The lead ANBU watched as his arm was lopped off in one swing, shortly before his colleague was filleted with a pair of bone cleavers. The leader fell to his knees, holding back his moaning.

"Well, what do you think, onii-chan?" asked Mikazuki, twirling her cleavers.

"If the Hokage really wanted to spy on us, he wouldn't need to send ANBU," answered Mangetsu, leaving the ANBU's corpse to slump to the ground, "So I'm thinking these guys are Danzo's toy soldiers."

"Typical," added the younger Shizuoka, "That crazy old cripple just doesn't take a hint, does he? You wanna kill him, onii-chan?"

"Nah, let him go," answered Mangetsu, tossing his knife menacingly in the air, "Somebody's got to tell Shimura what happened here."

"I have nothing to say to you brutes," bit out the ANBU, standing up while keeping his voice level through the pain, "And I will not do your…"

Mangetsu caught his knife mid-air, quickly throwing it at the ANBU. The heavy blade punched straight through the ceramic mask, and penetrated his skull. "Then what good are you?"

"Bury them, or leave them to be eaten?" Mikazuki asked.

"Probably a better idea to bury them," answered Mangetsu, pulling the knife out of the ANBU's face before shaking blood and grey matter off the blade. "If Danzo's smart, he won't press the issue any further and just leave us alone. After all, his ROOT division is technically supposed to be disbanded; he'll have quite a mess to clean up if he won't let this go." As he sheathed his knife, Mangetsu noted that his sister was looking through a pair of binoculars. "How's he doing?"

"Hasn't even started making a tent yet," she answered, still looking through the ANBU's binoculars, "He _is_ trying to get familiar with the knife, though; he's using it to carve stakes and make rope."

Mangetsu shrugged. "Well, it's a start. We'll see if there's anything worth training when we get back."

"So what's the prey of the day?" Mikazuki asked, tossing aside the binoculars.

"There was a Great Jaggi sighted south of here, and it's been causing a good amount of trouble for the farm there," explained Mangetsu, "Apparently, it's leading a fairly large pack and getting them fat on sheep."

"And for dinner?"

"Let's see what we'll find, if not the Jaggi."

…

[Hokage Tower]

Hiruzen gazed into his crystal ball, watching as Mikazuki and Mangetsu summoned a shovel to bury Danzo's ROOT operatives. He could only sigh exasperatedly at his fellow elder's refusal to leave Naruto be. _Any other time, old friend,_ he mused to himself, _any other time._

The _only_ reason he let ROOT remain active and off the books was because they had value in the long run. There were simply things that needed to be done and kept out of sight and out of mind; things that regular ANBU shouldn't know━things even the Hokage shouldn't know. The fact that ROOT wasn't under the Hokage's jurisdiction meant that Danzo sent them in of his own volition, allowing him to wash his hands clean of this transgression.

Besides, in the old Kage's mind, there was nothing for him to punish. Danzo tried to abduct Naruto against his explicit orders to do otherwise, so his operatives were slain by a pair of Hunters protecting their new apprentice. As far as he was concerned, Shimura got off easy; he was _already_ on thin ice with the Guild for commissioning several contracts that resulted in missing Hunters. _I think I have a pretty good idea what happened to those poor souls,_ _but with all ROOT operatives fanatically loyal to Danzo, there's nothing I can do_.

Because of this, Hiruzen had to offer up reparations for unpaid missions and lost Hunters to the head of the Konoha Hunters, and a sincere apology for Danzo's actions. Whether his word as Kage would be trusted after this incident was another story, but at least he managed to appease the Konoha Hunters for now. If the Guild severed their ties with the village, the Shinobi would be ill-prepared for the swarm of monster-slaying missions they'd surely leave behind. And aside from the Senju brothers rolling in their graves over the consequences of Danzo's crimes, the village would be left defenseless in the event of an Elder Dragon incursion. _Danzo, why in the world would you even_ want _to antagonize the Guild? Surely it's more than just prejudice?_

For now, he would simply keep watch over Naruto's progress. But if Danzo persisted in his efforts to abduct and turn the boy into a ROOT operative, Sarutobi would not hesitate to tear down the organization. And with the Guild still baying for the last Shimura's blood over the missing Hunters, Danzo would be fighting a war on two fronts if he continued to push his luck. _I dare you to try something like this again,_ he thought _._

…

[The Clearing]

Mangetsu and Mikazuki returned to the clearing with a wild chicken on hand to find Naruto struggling to get a single tent ready. The densely-packed branches he was using for the walls of the tent simply fell apart at the knots before he could prop them up against the posts. Though to his credit, he had a few frames at the ready to support the branches.

"Yeah, we've got a long road ahead of us," Mikazuki noted.

"That's enough for now," Mangetsu called, getting Naruto's attention as he approached, "You've got the right idea, using the leafy branches for the walls of the tent, but you need to tie them tighter."

Naruto watched as Mangetsu tied the branches; his hands moved slowly to show him the proper way to tie a knot to hold the branches together. "So I didn't do well, huh?"

"You're only a beginner, so that's to be expected," answered Mangetsu, as Naruto began to help him, "Though that just means you'll be able to take in our lessons much better than if you knew how to camp to begin with. Keep an open mind; it'll keep you alive."

The two of them went to work silently, setting up camp while Mikazuki went to work carving on wood with a large knife. "So why do we need the Hunters in the village?" Naruto queried, setting up a wall of the first tent.

"Let's just say there are things that Shinobi can do better than Hunters, and vice-versa," explained Mangetsu, setting up the other wall of the tent, "Hunters can fight people just fine, but we're better-suited to fight monsters. Shinobi are better at fighting people, but tend to be bad when it comes to monsters."

"But can't a Shinobi do a Hunter's job?"

"I seriously wouldn't recommend it," answered Mangetsu, setting up another tent wall, "Monsters have a pretty strong resistance to jutsu; we don't know why, but they can take a lot of direct punishment from chakra. So unless they've got Kage-level fighters or jutsu, or they know what they're doing, the average Shinobi team will outright lose to a monster. It's happened before, like the team that was almost killed to the last man from fighting a Zinogre; I heard their Raiton jutsu didn't hurt it so much as piss it off even more."

Naruto gulped nervously. The idea that he could be done in by monsters that could tank a lot of jutsu was a disconcerting thought for him. "But the Hokage wants to change all that by sending you to be trained by us," Mangetsu reassured, helping to set up a second tent, "I guess he wants to use you as a sign of goodwill between the Shinobi and the Hunters; to show that we _can_ cooperate. Personally? I don't know about that, but no reason not to give it a shot, neh?"

It would be another hour before all three tents were set up; in that time, Mikazuki had begun collecting a pile of sticks. "Naruto, come on over," she called, "I've got something to show you."

Naruto sat up and walked towards his other teacher, with the knife in hand. As he was about to offer it to her, she raised her hand in refusal. "Keep it, I bought it from the smithy specifically for you," she said, "Besides, I always bring my own knives. Of the three things you should _never_ leave home without when camping, the knife's at the top of the list."

"What's the other two?" Naruto queried.

"Fire, or at least a way to _make_ fire," Mikazuki explained, indicating a small jig on the floor. It consisted of a small bow with a long stick wrapped in its string, stuck in a bundle of dried straw on a plank. She held the stick up with a handle in one hand. "This is just one such way; it's called a fire drill. It's not exactly sophisticated, but it's one of easiest ways I know to get a campfire going if I forget to bring matches or a lighter."

"How does it work?"

"You put a pile of stuff you want to burn under the stick," she explained, operating the jig, "Then you push and pull the bow back and and forth really fast until you see the pile catch fire. After that you have to put it in the firewood to get a campfire going."

Mikazuki offered the jig to Naruto, who continued to push and pull the bow. "What's the third thing we need?" he asked, the bundle of straw smoking.

"Clean water," she answered, piling the firewood together, "That you can always find in a lot of different ways; usually, it's easiest to just set up camp near a river for this."

"Makes sense," noted Naruto.

"These are all basics that Hunters have to do while out on the job, away from civilization," added Mangetsu, preparing the chicken, "You have to know these things, because you're not always going to have Felynes or teammates to help you out. When you have to do a job alone, it helps that you know how to help yourself out here—that will mean the difference in your survival."

Naruto pulled out the flaming bundle of straw, quickly handing it to Mikazuki, who placed it into the pile of sticks. "Now we get to a really _important_ skill you need to know out here," she chirped, "We're going to cook."

…

[Aiko Tea Room]

Danzo sat at a table, admiring a deep green teacup that was pieced back together with a combination of lacquer and fine gold dust. The teapot that accompanied it was of the same color, and had shown signs that it was destroyed worse than the cup. Overall, he got his money's worth appreciating the art, rather than the tea.

"Danzo-sama, we have a problem," whispered a voice from behind him.

"What happened?" Shimura asked, studying the teapot's gold-painted cracks.

"The team you sent to abduct Uzumaki Naruto has failed to report back," answered the messenger, "I believe that the Shizuoka siblings are responsible."

"Then it seems we have no choice but to lay low," answered the elder, "If Hiruzen wants the Jinchūriki trained by Hunters, then we will allow him his victory for now."

"Your will be done, Danzo-sama."

As Danzo set down the gold-laced teapot, he began to think of his next move.

…

[The Campsite]

Naruto sat at the campfire, watching with a watering mouth as the chicken roasted on a spit. He could smell the fat melting into the meat as Mangetsu turned the rod to cook it more evenly. After every turn, he would brush the bird with a liquid he couldn't identify, but smelled sweet when it burned.

"Can we eat now?" Naruto whined, "I'm getting _real_ hungry, dattebayo!"

"Just a little longer," answered Mangetsu, brushing the chicken, "This isn't like your instant ramen. This is _quality_ food, you have to give it time to cook. Besides, what could taste better than a dish made out of ingredients fresh from the wild?"

"And don't even get him started on those soldier pills the Shinobi like to chomp down on so much," Mikazuki advised, "He hates those things with a passion."

"They satisfy you for three days, and then drain you of energy for a while after that," he admonished, "What _isn't_ there to hate about them?"

Deciding that it would be a while longer, Naruto decided to change the subject, if only to take his mind off his hunger for a little longer. "So how do you earn your license?"

"Two ways," answered Mikazuki, "You _could_ do it the more civilized way like onii-chan; or you could do it the traditional way, like I did."

"What's the civilized way?" Naruto asked.

"The guild assigns a professional chef to you, and you have to gather whatever ingredients they ask for," explained Mangetsu, "Sounds easy enough, but those pro chefs tend to be _very_ specific about what they want; if they need an extra hand in the kitchen, they _will_ get it. That's because you have until graduation day to get all the ingredients together, and the dish you're both making is your contribution to the graduation feast. You don't have a contribution to the feast, you don't graduate; simple as that."

Naruto nodded in thought; he could see how Hunters and chefs could get along well. "What about the traditional way?"

"You go hunting for a Flying Wyvern," Mikazuki answered simply, with more than a healthy dose of enthusiasm.

Naruto simply stared at her with his mouth agog. "A Flying Wyvern?"

"That's right," she said, as though it were the simplest job in the world, "You go out into the wilds with an experienced Hunter, then hunt yourselves a Flying Wyvern. In the old days, that was _the_ test to see if you were ready to hunt on your own, because it forces you to use every skill you learned: what weapons you should use; when to use your traps; even how well you know your prey. Even with the more civilized option on the table, if your Hunting partner confirms you did well during the hunt, then you got the license. That's because the Flying Wyverns are among the most dangerous prey out there; big, winged monsters, some of which could _actually_ fly, and all of whom have a nasty temper."

Naruto began to think of the different ways a Hunter earned their license. Both made sense in his mind. "As it stands, we're going with an 'all of the above' method of teaching you," added Mangetsu, turning the chicken several more times, "We're not certain how you want to finally get your Hunting License, but we're going to train you for both tests just in case. When we feel you're ready, we'll ask how you want to graduate. The chicken's done, by the way."

"About time!" Mikazuki sighed, reaching out with her knife. She pulled out a drumstick, and cut it off at the joint, while her brother shaved off a piece of breast. Following the siblings' example, Naruto cut off an entire wing. His mouth watered as he looked upon moist, steamy, well-browned skin, while smelling the sweetness of the marinade that Mangetsu covered it in. One bite into the wing, and he could taste honey with a hint of cinnamon dancing in his mouth with the juiciness of the chicken.

Naruto found that he had to repay Mangetsu and Mikazuki for their kindness. _Maybe everyone's right; I_ do _need to get serious, dattebayo. And the best way to pay them back is to be their best student. I'll be the best hunter you both taught, or my name isn't Uzumaki Naruto!_

…

[Konoha Wilderness, sixteen months later]

As he rummaged through the forest floor for thick branches, Naruto kept his ears open for trouble. It'd been over a year and a half since he started training under the Moon Siblings, and he'd made strides in his training as a Hunter. Setting up camp with improvised materials became an art form to him, as was cooking over a campfire.

In terms of fighting skills, the siblings first taught him the basic skills and conditioning needed to survive a knife fight, and all the things he could use his camp knife for. After that, Naruto was given a crash course on the use of Hunter weapons, starting with the sword and shield. Once he was done with that, he was allowed to hunt mundane game like deer and wild boar before graduating to larger, more serious prey. One of the largest he'd hunted so far was a Great Jaggi, which he used to make dinner and several of his weapons.

For now however, he was on camp duty; which meant looking for thick branches for tent posts. Finding a large branch still attached to a tree, Naruto brought out his knife to hack it off. As he was about to begin the cutting, he noted something shining from the corner of his eye. He lowered his knife, but kept it at the ready as he investigated the nearby tree. A closer examination revealed that something was lodged in the trunk.

Naruto reached out to the item embedded in the tree with his knife, digging the tip into the groove. He dislodged the item out of the tree, carefully pulling it out before examining it more closely. It had a slightly curved profile with a central ridge bending a diamond shape in half; it was slightly larger than Mangetsu's hand, and had a metallic sheen to it as though it were made of brass. Picking up a leaf, Naruto used the plate to slice through it; the cut was extremely clean, as though it were made by a ridiculously sharp sushi knife slicing through air. Overall, the object gave the impression of an large, strangely-shaped arrowhead, or a big, fat kunai.

Whatever it was, Naruto found that this thing wasn't alone. He could find these large arrowheads in different sizes, lodged in many trees. He also found wet blood splatter in the area. _Better not push my luck_ , Naruto thought, _Whatever left these behind might_ still _be around, and my weapons are back at camp!_

Naruto stuck the arrowhead into the tree, and returned to the task at hand. After chopping off the branch he needed, he gathered the bundle and the item in question before running back to the campsite. He ran through the forest, deftly avoiding obstacles with fluid movements to avoid being slowed. Sometimes he flipped over bushes, other times he cartwheeled under low-hanging branches; neither hindered him in any way.

Arriving at camp, Naruto found his teachers setting up a campfire and a spit. From the recently-killed snakes he saw, they'd just got back. "We were starting to get worried," said Mangetsu, "Something up?"

As he approached his mentors, Naruto set down the bundle of branches, while holding the brass, diamond-shaped plate, out for them to see. "I found this a while before you two got here, dattebayo."

Mangetsu studied the item in question, gently taking it off Naruto's hands. As the older man inspected it, a silent 'oh no' was written on his face. "Where'd you find this?"

Naruto pointed towards the forest. "I found it in a tree over there, and there were lots of it."

Quickly turning to face his sister, Mangetsu held the plate in one hand for her to see. "Mika, send word to the Guild, tell them we've got signs of a Seregios here."

Mikazuki's expression turned serious. "What's going on?" Naruto queried.

"You found Seregios scales," answered Mangetsu, "That's serious business to the Guild, which warrants us warning everyone of its presence."

"I don't get it, what's a Seregios?"

"They're an invasive species of Flying Wyvern that can thrive in any ecosystem," explained Mangetsu, "Once they make themselves at home, they'll quickly try establish themselves as apex predators, eating or killing native wildlife just to show everyone who's boss. They may not have poisoned talons or the ability to breathe fire like Rathalos or Rathian, but they're equally as vicious, and they can fling their razor-sharp scales everywhere."

"Well why don't we hunt it ourselves, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, earning a searching look from both of his mentors, "We're already in the area, why not take care of it here and now?"

"You sure about this?" Mikazuki asked in concern, "This'll be a make or break moment for you. If we succeed in the hunt, then you'll earn yourself that license; but one mistake, and you _could_ die."

"There's no shame in turning back," Mangetsu added, "We all agreed that you would earn the license eventually, and you know that there is another way to graduate. However, if we do this, you will be pushed to your limit—fighting, survival, everything we've taught you will be put to the test. So I want you to take a deep look inside yourself now, and tell us in your heart of hearts that you're ready for this."

Naruto silently contemplated what he'd been told. As he made up his mind, Naruto regarded the Moon Siblings with a confident expression. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Mangetsu nodded in assent. "Good, we just wanted to see if _you_ believed you were ready. Either way, the Guild has to be notified of this."

"I'll relay the message," Mikazuki offered, cracking her neck.

"You do that," agreed her brother, "But make sure the Guild knows a graduation exam is also taking place."

The younger of the Moon Siblings nodded in acknowledgment before sprinting back to the village. Mangetsu then turned his attention back to Naruto, "In the meantime, we're going to prepare; make sure we have enough flash bombs and rope. We also need jerky for at least a week. As soon as Mika gets back, we're going to make sure all our weapons are sharp, and we've got more than enough ammo because we're going after large game."

"We'll be ready, dattebayo!" Naruto assured.

…

 _ **A/N: And that's the end of the chapter. Expect there to be cameos in the future.**_

 _ **Looks like we're guaranteed at least a little action in the next chapter, what with Naruto going through the traditional graduation exam. How will he fare against the Seregios?**_

 _ **Another question would be, why does Danzo want to antagonize the Hunter's Guild so much?**_

 _ **All this and more later.**_

 _ **Props to NorthSouthGorem and Soleneus for beta-reading the chapter. Give them both a look when you can.**_

 _ **And do leave a review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References/Vocabulary**_

 _ **Danzo's repaired pottery—kintsugi, the Japanese art of taking broken pottery, and piecing it back together with lacquer and precious metals like gold and silver. It is also the basis of the "Kintsugi" weapon skin set from "Warframe."**_

 _ **Mangetsu and Mikazuki—their names mean "Full Moon" and "New Moon" respectively.**_


	3. Rite of Passage

**_A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. Between work, Iron Banner, a cold, and actually getting Monster Hunter World, I've been busy. Anyway, it's finally here, as Darkis Shadow put it, the "rite of passage against our buddy Steve."_**

 ** _Make no mistake, this will be the end of the Hunter side of Naruto's training. How he does as a Shinobi will have to wait until the next chapter._**

 ** _In any case, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!_**

…

[Hi no Kuni Wilderness, the next day]

"All right then, let's see what you've learned," Mangetsu challenged, hefting his hammer over the left shoulder, "Track the prey."

Naruto nodded, moving idly among the battle scarred trees, with a long, double-bladed polearm on hand. One blade had a vial of glowing purple liquid embedded in the fuller, the other was a solid steel blade. He also had a rather large black beetle that rested on a bracer on his left arm. The insect glaive and kinsect combo was hardly his best weapon style, but he liked its versatility and its mobility. It was a weapon he was certain the Aburame clan would use if they ever took up monster-hunting.

Searching the area, Naruto saw something from the corner of his eye. His instincts led him to investigate a clearing in the woods to find more scale-riddled trees—some of the scales were destroyed, as though they exploded. He also found scorch marks, the odd blood splatter, as well as damaged trees with tooth and claw marks in their bark. The footprints he studied in the ground suggested that there was a struggle.

"I don't think we're alone in the hunt," he observed, examining a footprint, "I see more than one set of footprints. Looks like something picked a fight with a pretty big monster; footprints are scattered around the area, then they're leading away. Whatever it was that fought back, I doubt it was a Rathian—these prints are too big, there's no sign of a Rath's spiked tail being used, and I don't remember seeing a nest nearby."

"Here, lemme take a look," Mikazuki suggested, gently pushing Naruto aside to see the footprints herself. She squatted to have a closer look, keeping one hand on her bowgun. "Yeah, these x-shaped prints and claw marks belong to a Seregios; whenever they're not flying, they're running around on all fours. They prefer kicking their enemies to death. Those bigger prints are definitely Brute Wyvern feet. They're not too heavy, so I don't think it's a Deviljho, thank god. Probably an Anjanath, given the scorch marks and the locale."

"Brute Wyvern?" Naruto asked, "What's that?"

"Massive slabs of muscle on two legs, small arms and a long tail," answered a male voice in the treeline, "They tend to be ridiculously strong carnivores that're plenty fast for their size."

Naruto turned his attention to the treeline to see three figures walk into the clearing. One of them was a dark-skinned girl wearing a fur bikini that revealed her slim curves. She wore a burlap poncho around her neck with the hood down, revealing dark brown hair; bits of vegetation were stuck in the netting, allowing her to disappear into the forest. Her weapon was a large bow with steel limbs attached to a wooden grip, and the arrows in her quiver were large enough to be used as javelins. She looked back at the group with cyan eyes.

The second girl looked like she was prepped for life in cold climates. The heavy, fur-lined leather of her jacket, cap, and boots did not seem to hinder her movements in the slightest; especially with the holes cut in important areas of her jacket for better freedom of movement. She wore a pair of cargo pants that were tied at the knees, and she had a long sword sheathed across her back. Naruto could also make out pale skin and sapphire eyes.

The only boy in the group had brown eyes and hair, with a slight tan; he was dressed lightly in calf-length cargo shorts and a t-shirt. A metal cuirass, gauntlets, and greaves were the only pieces of serious protection on his body, complemented with a scaled leather mantle made from wyvern hide. Holstered at his sides were a pair of short blades roughly the size of his thighs.

"Who're you?" Naruto asked.

"Just Hunter apprentices that're after a bigger challenge," answered the boy, "The name's Arisawa Takumi. The archer's Hijikata Mayumi, and the sword-girl is Yukino Kazuko."

"Uzumaki Naruto, also an apprentice," Naruto replied.

"Shizuoka Mikazuki, big guy's my brother Mangetsu," Mikazuki introduced, "We're the ones teaching him."

Takumi glanced at the two of them, his eyes widening in surprise. "You kidding me? The Moon Siblings? We've heard about you two all the way in Kawa no Kuni!"

"That's nice and all, but where are your masters?" asked Mangetsu.

"Back home," replied Takumi, "We were sent over to Hi no Kuni to get used to different hunting grounds."

Mangetsu whistled in surprise. "That's a long way from home. Do all of you have a provisional license?"

The three apprentices readily produced a small plastic card from their pockets, allowing Mikazuki to sit up and collect them. "Let's see here," she drawled, before showing the cards to her brother, "Yeah, these cards are legit. Says here you got your provisional licenses about a year ago in Kawa no Kuni. You've also got an international permit, so the three of you are good to hunt here without your master's supervision as long as your licenses are legal."

"So what're we doing here with a Brute Wyvern?" asked Takumi, as Mikazuki returned their cards. Once she reunited the last card with its owner, the younger Shizuoka turned her attention back to the tracks.

"We're not hunting it," answered Naruto, "We're doing a graduation exam on a Seregios."

"No kidding?" asked Mayumi.

"From what I can tell, the Seregios pissed off the Anjanath more than necessary," noted Mikazuki, "Which means we're going to have to find it first." She then turned her attention back to Naruto. "You wanna continue the chase?"

"You know it, dattebayo," answered Naruto with confidence in his tone.

"Then we should be very careful," Mangetsu advised, "Brute Wyverns may be slower, but they can be every bit as dangerous as a Flying Wyvern, if not more so. If that Anjanath still has a bone to pick with that Seregios, we could be fighting two very dangerous monsters at once. Now lead on."

"You mind if we join in?" asked Kazuko, "We've been looking for an opportunity to do a graduation exam for a while now."

Naruto looked back at Mangetsu, silently asking for his advice. "This is your hunt, Naruto," he answered simply, "Mika and I are mainly here to supervise, which means we don't technically count as part of your hunting party. So this is entirely your decision as to whether you want to start your own party or not."

"Let's go then," said Naruto, regarding the Kawa Hunters as he gripped the shaft of his insect glaive, "We've got a lot of ground to cover."

Mikazuki loaded her bowgun, while Takumi and his team readied their own weapons.

…

[Hokage Office]

Watching Naruto's progress through his crystal ball, Hiruzen could feel a rush in his veins as the boy and his mentors tracked their prey. Anything could happen in a hunt, especially when Flying Wyverns were involved. Doubly so when the Flying Wyvern in question was being hunted as part of a prospective Hunter's graduation exam.

So when the Konoha Guild personally sent word to Hiruzen that Naruto was on the hunt for a Seregios, the old Kage knew he had to watch. On the one hand, he was truly interested in Naruto's progress; to see if his experiment would bear fruit. On the other, he was worried for the boy's safety—from what he'd heard, Seregios were weaker than a Rath in top form, but they were no slouches. Either way, this was Naruto's trial by fire, where failure could mean death; it was something Sarutobi refused to miss.

The idea that there was a possibility of Naruto and his mentors encountering an Anjanath worried him. He knew from experience that they were a native fire-breathing Brute Wyvern that competed with Rathalos and Rathian as apex predator in Hi no Kuni. The fact that a Seregios had the nerve to pick a fight with one was not lost to Sarutobi.

Then came the arrival of the Kawa no Kuni Hunter apprentices. As far as Hiruzen understood, the provisional license allowed international Hunters to travel to any nation and hunt without their master's supervision. The caveat to this was that they had to renew the license every four years, and that they could only hunt anything up to Fanged Beasts and Bird Wyverns; anything like Flying or Brute Wyverns was done at their own peril.

Overall, Hiruzen could see why the traditional rite of passage for a Hunter was such a demanding test. Fighting, survival, tracking, and teamwork in this case; it would force the prospective Hunters to use every skill in their arsenal to survive a test where the smallest mistake could kill you. In short, it was the Guild's version of a Chūnin Exam, which could be taken at any time. If they managed to survive all that, then I would've given them their license.

"Well, at least you're killing two birds with one stone, Naruto," Hiruzen muttered to himself, "Still, rather than trying to give me a heart attack for your final exam, couldn't you have cooked dinner for me and my family instead?"

…

[Hi no Kuni Wilderness]

Naruto's team and the Kawa Hunters followed the trail of the Anjanath as it went deeper into the woods. The footprints had come to a complete stop in a new clearing, before disappearing down another path.

"I guess it finally decided that the Seregios wasn't worth its time," Naruto surmised, studying the footprints, "So it went one way while the Seregios flew in another direction."

"Well, it's your hunt, Naruto," said Mangetsu, "It's your call."

Naruto thought carefully as he studied the tracks, trying to figure out their next move. "Let's continue a little further, find a safe place, then set up camp," he finally said, "No point getting into a fight while you're tired."

"Might as well," Mikazuki replied, "It's getting late."

The hunting party silently resumed following the tracks for the next few hours, coming to a stop in a clearing. After checking the area for threats, each of them built their own tent with twigs just in time for dusk to set in. The blonde watched as the Kawa Hunter team set up their camp, casually stripping off their rain gear and settling close to each other.

Fortunately, Mangetsu carried a flint and striker with him to start a fire; unfortunately the search had taken so long they had no time to hunt. Luckily, the Kawa Hunters had a fresh wild pig in a storage scroll that Naruto eyeballed at about 45, maybe 47 kilos━meaning it could easily feed about 100 normal people; or six, maybe seven Hunters. Either way, dinner was served; the pig was gutted, and Mangetsu rubbed in his special mix of spices and herbs before roasting it on a spit and marinating it with its own juices.

"So why did everyone decide to be Hunters?" asked Naruto, carving a piece of the shoulder for his kinsect before eating it himself.

"The excitement," answered Takumi, biting into a pork on a stick, "Makes you figure out what part of you is human or animal."

"That and it's a family tradition for the three of us," added Kazuko, carving out a piece of loin from the back using a knife with a false edge, "Our masters, who are also our parents, are experienced Hunters themselves."

"What about you, Naruto?" asked Mayumi, slicing off a piece of rib with her dagger, "Why are you trying to get the license?"

"Spent all year skipping class and pranking in the Ninja Academy," Naruto answered, hacking off a chunk with his knife, "Because of that, the Hokage sent me to be taught by Hunters, and won't let me back in until I get my license; been at it for almost a year and a half now. Though to be honest, I'm liking the training and being outdoors."

"Uh huh and he didn't see the potential of these pranks?" Takumi asked skeptically.

"Nah, I think he was just mad at me more for wasting time and money to skip class all year," Naruto replied, shrugging, "That, and I guess he wanted me to put those pranks to good use."

"Well, I've always wanted to be a master chef, to be honest," Mangetsu answered, "I wanted to be so good that I could at least compete with the Akimichi chefs; maybe even own a few restaurants myself. The hunt is an opportunity for me to sharpen my skills for my ultimate dream, and to experience a variety of ingredients and techniques."

Naruto could agree with that; Mangetsu kept a separate sealing scroll that he pulled a lot of cooking utensils and ingredients from. Once, he'd even seen him pull out a big pot to make a wicked stew with peppercorn and a Great Jaggi tail. "What about you, Mika-sensei?"

"I guess a big part of it is the exploration," answered Mikazuki, taking a bite herself, "I've always wanted to travel ever since I was a little girl…see all those places our dad talked about so much."

Naruto noted her wistful expression when Mikazuki mentioned her father. "How is he?"

"He was one of the Hunters who joined in the fight against the Kyūbi," she answered simply, "He was crazy enough to climb up its fur to stab it in the eye."

From what Naruto understood, a lot Shinobi and Hunters died that day. Both sides brought everything to the table: the Hunters brought their best and heaviest weapons, while the Shinobi fought with jutsu and cunning. In the end, they only succeeded in annoying the fox, but they managed to distract the beast long enough for the Yondaime Hokage to defeat it. "I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"Don't worry about it, it was for the best," Mangetsu assured, "He did want to go down fighting a worthy opponent after all. And honestly, what better opponent could you get than a creature that could go toe-to-toe with an Elder Dragon and stand a good chance of winning?"

"Elder Dragon?"

"Probably the biggest game out there," explained Mikazuki, "They're not all dragon-like, but they are extremely rare monsters that are so far removed from the Tree of Life that the researchers couldn't classify them. A lot of them are big and powerful enough to potentially destroy a Hidden Village, but they all have several things in common: they're so powerful that all other monsters clear out of the area; and where they go, natural disasters tend to follow."

Naruto felt his heart race at the idea of such powerful monsters walking the world. "I wouldn't worry too much about that," said Mangetsu, interrupting his train of thought, "Like Mika said, Elder Dragons are incredibly rare; tons of Hunters have gone through their lives without seeing one. Still, because of their potential to at least alter the ecosystem, we take signs of their appearance very seriously; more so than sightings of an invasive species. Although, that means that it's impossible to be surprised by one showing up."

"Then maybe I can hunt one before I become Hokage," Naruto mused.

Mikazuki huffed in amusement. "Good luck on that. I've heard even the Shodaime Hokage had trouble fighting an Elder Dragon when he founded Konoha. You think you have what it takes to match that?"

"I know I'm not ready now!" snapped Naruto, "But one day, I'm gonna go hunt one myself, dattebayo!"

"Then don't stop growing," Mangetsu challenged him, "Don't stop trying to get stronger and smarter. Only when you're totally ready for whatever Mother Nature throws your way will you be ready to take on an Elder Dragon."

Naruto nodded, finishing off his dinner for the day. After the campfire was smothered, he was given the first watch. He scaled the trunk using the Tree-hopping technique, and perched himself on a thick branch for a better view. Scanning the forest, Naruto took in the view of the wilderness illuminated by silvery moonlight; the scene was breathtaking with varying shades of blacks and blues, contrasted with the white moon. Maybe Mika-sensei's right…there's just so much to see out here in the wilderness.

…

[Nyan-town, Konoha]

As Hinata looked upon the looming form that was the Konoha Hunting Lodge, the first word that came to her mind was 'impenetrable.' Giant wooden palisades made from thick, pointy logs surrounded the perimeter, protecting everyone from both monster and human attacks. Large, wooden gates were reinforced with a heavy steel frame to prevent all but strongest jutsu from penetrating. The building in the center was a sturdy, five-story compound that the served as a viable command post, being made of natural rock and concrete that was strengthened with a fūinjutsu array.

It was further defended by manned ballista turrets with a high rate of fire, and cannons that fired high-explosive munitions. These emplacements were intended to help deter Elder Dragon incursions, but worked just as well against human-sized targets if need be. Due to these security measures, the Hunting Lodge also protected civilians during a village-wide crisis, such as the Kyūbi attack almost twelve years prior. All things considered, it was effectively a fort.

The building was constructed as a gift by the Shodaime Hokage himself and his wife to commemorate the first official collaboration between the Guild and the Hidden Villages. So long as they carried an official Hunting License and respected the law of the land and the Guild, any Hunter was welcomed in all lodges without fear of discrimination. And while their relationship was often rocky at best, sometimes the Shinobi would also be welcomed within its walls.

Looking at the line of Hunters and Huntresses entering and leaving the lodge, Hinata was worried; not so much for being seen, but for sightings of Naruto—or lack thereof.

She had been shadowing Naruto for the past year or so since he'd saved her from bullies. The news that he'd flunked was not a surprise to her; sometimes Hanabi would join him in his pranks. What she did find surprising was that Iruka's announcement that the Hokage had sent him to be trained by Hunters because he flunked. Needless to say, it motivated a lot of students to not fail like Naruto did.

Shinobi didn't have a high opinion of the Hunters, she knew. Those that did were the ones that often worked closely with them, like the Aburame, Inuzuka and maybe a good number of Akimichi chefs. Kiba himself once said that he wanted to join the Guild when he was younger.

On the flip side, some, like the Uchiha clan, saw them as brutish lunatics for willingly pursuing such dangerous prey on a regular basis. Others, like a good number of Hyūga mocked them for their insistence on focusing on the 'balance of nature.'

Hinata and was not among them, and she knew for a fact that Hanabi wasn't either. As a matter of fact, they honestly believed that training with the Hunters was a good thing for Naruto. It made him more serious, more daring, like he could legitimately take on the world. Since he'd started the training, he only ever came back to the village on a weekly basis, often for more supplies and to take a break from living in the wilderness. His return to the village made her heart race every time she saw him; and it helped that he'd built muscle over the past year and a half.

It'd been almost four days since his projected return, which was concerning for both of the Hyūga sisters for different reasons. "Can I help you, nya?" asked a small, feminine voice behind her.

Hinata squeaked from the sudden greeting. She turned to find a bluish-grey Felyne in a maid's outfit looking up at her with clear orange eyes. It had a comically large grocery bag in one paw and a leash in the other, which was attached to a brown cat with black stripes and a red bowtie in its ear. The cat was trying desperately to bite free of its leash.

"Umm, yes, I'm looking for someone," she finally answered.

"Well, if you're looking for a Hunter, then you're out of luck," answered the Felyne, "I heard they're all on the lookout for a dangerous meownster flying around in the wilderness. Word on the street is that one hunting party's gone looking for it with an apprentice, nya."

"Thank you."

Before the Felyne could respond, the cat it was walking broke free of its leash and ran off, quickly disappearing into the crowd. "Hey! Tora! Get back here, meow!"

As the Felyne ran off to catch the brown cat, Hinata looked wistfully into the sky. Be careful out there, Naruto-kun…

…

[Valley of the End, Hi no Kuni wilderness]

The Valley of the End, the site of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara's last duel with each other. Titanic statues were carved into the cliff face, commemorating the two giants of the Shinobi world as they were eternally locked in battle. A waterfall separated the two founders of Konoha, as their hands prepared to cast a jutsu, their eyes focused on each other for the slightest movement.

Naruto admired the scenery, watching as the waterfall pooled into the bottom of the rocky valley, before smoothly transitioning into a river that fed the sea. There was no sign of monster activity in the area, as though Mother Nature herself had declared that this ground remain sacred. Truly a magnificent sight, especially when looking up at the statues.

The hunting parties had stopped for a quick rest and water before continuing on the trail. It'd been almost four days since he'd initiated the hunt for the Seregios, and they'd found no sign of the Flying Wyvern. So far, his survival and tracking skills had been tested, but he'd yet to see if he was any good at fighting a monster on his own.

"Amazing," Takumi noted, looking up at the waterfall, "To think, we'd be in the presence of giants."

"We ready to go?" Mangetsu asked.

"Yeah," Naruto answered, "I'm rea—"

Whatever else Naruto was about to say caught in his throat when he noted something out of the corner of his eye. He walked closer to investigate, and found signs of a struggle; two sets of footprints, a good amount of blood splatter, and razor-sharp scales.

"Guys! A fight happened here!" Naruto called out, waving his team and teachers in, "I think it's the same Anjanath from before!"

Everyone walked in, investigating the scene before them.

"Blood splatter and footprints look recent," Naruto noted, "I'm also seeing more sharp scales in the area. I guess the Anjanath still has a bone to pick with the Seregios."

"Makes sense," Mikazuki added, "Anjanath are persistence hunters; once they have a target on mind, they're not gonna give up the chase until they finally catch their prey. To make the job easier, they'll try to seriously wound the prey -usually by biting them- before running them down for days if they have to. Chances are, the prey will be too weak to fight back, if not dead from blood loss or infection."

Naruto continued to study the battleground. "Well it looks like they're going downstream, and the Seregios got wounded pretty badly; my guess is, it got ambushed by the Anjanath while drinking. After fighting for a bit, they broke off—the Anjanath went back into the woods, while the Seregios flew away. I don't think they're too far now."

"Then we'd better get ready for a tough fight," Mangetsu suggested, hefting his hammer in both hands, "The prey and its pursuer may be weakened, but they'll still put up one hell of a fight."

Naruto nodded in assent, tightening his grip on the insect glaive before waking up the kinsect with a gentle tap. Training under the Moon Siblings familiarized him with every weapon in the Hunters' arsenal, from the massive greatswords to the many ammo types for the bowguns. Every weapon had a use in his mind, right tool for the right job, but it was the versatility of technical weapons like the insect glaives and bows that had won his heart over all others.

Takumi unsheathed his dual blades, rolling his shoulders and his neck, keeping himself limber. Unlike Mikazuki's bone cleavers, these were short, single-edged, pattern-welded blades. Both had a brass disc guard and a red flag tied around a ring pommel, and a bone grip. Naruto saw nothing special about the blades, though, barring their high quality.

As Naruto turned his attention to Kazuko, the first thing he noted about her long sword was that it was made of bone; specifically, a section of a monster's spinal column. The grip was a long, steel rod that was threaded through the vertebral foramen, as each vertebra was secured to it with wire. The grip was wrapped in tape to allow a comfortable hold, but was divided into thirds by thicker bands. The blades on the vertebrae were sharpened, enabling the weapon to cut and saw off pieces of flesh. A primitive-looking weapon to be sure, but Naruto had seen more than his fair share.

The hunting party followed the blood trail towards the woods. Naruto, Takumi, Kazuko, and Mangetsu formed the vanguard, while Mikazuki and Mayumi served as fire support. There would be no use for a scope in the woods, not when she was more likely to shoot her targets in tight quarters. Still, she had a number of specialized rounds for every occasion; and if all else failed, she still had her cleavers.

When they neared the woods, a loud shriek pierced the air as a yellow and red blur leaped over the hunters before landing to face them. The long-necked monster had a bladed crest on its head that pointed skyward on top of a toothy beak. Aside from the splash of red around its blue eyes, the creature had brass-yellow scales and a white underbelly. Its larger scales rattled as they swiveled individually with each breath it took, giving the creature the appearance of large, angry pine cone. It walked on large, leathery wings with the same razor sharp scales on its body covering the tips. The creature was also wounded, blood dripping from a tail that ended in two prongs.

Behind them, a loud roar could be heard. The hunting party dove aside as a large form smashed its way from the trees, before sliding to a stop in front of the Seregios. It was a hulking mass of muscle on legs with a pair of small arms that terminated in two dagger-like claws and a long, muscular tail. Its loose pink skin was marred with bleeding wounds, and its back was dusted with a thin coat black fur and a thick white coat covered the junction between its shoulders and its large neck. It had a bony plate that was raised over its nose, and it a jaw filled with serrated steak knife teeth. As it roared, a sac on its throat expanded, glowing red as it breathed, a pair of wings at its hind legs flaring.

The two monsters roared, daring each other to make the next move. On one side, was the brazen invader that Naruto and his party was hunting, and the beast that also pursued it. Both combatants were seriously wounded, the Anjanath more so than the Seregios, but it was clear they were still in fighting shape. Man, talk about picking a fight with the wrong monster, dattebayo! Naruto thought to himself.

"This is it everyone," said Mangetsu, "This is the prey we've been chasing; you're all ready. You kids deal with the Seregios, Mika and I will keep the Anjanath off your back; we'll try to get to you as fast as we can. Now go!"

Naruto nodded, leading Takumi and the girls around the giant monsters. Mikazuki took aim with her bowgun, firing a few rounds at the Anjanath. The Brute Wyvern turned its attention to the Moon Siblings, roaring in rage.

Taking aim with his insect glaive, Naruto fired a pheromone dart at the wound in the Seregios's tail. The Flying Wyvern shrieked in pain as the kinsect darted towards the wound, its claws and mandibles digging into flesh upon landing. The wyvern thrashed its tail, trying to squash the kinsect, only to fling it off and onto Naruto's bracer before turning to glare at the young Hunters with fire in its eyes.

{Play: "No Future" by Nanase Aikawa, from "Zoids: Zero Century"}

The Seregios shrieked as it leaped towards Naruto, intent on ripping him to shreds with a beat of its bladed wings. Naruto used his insect glaive to vault over its wing before landing to slice at its ankle, only to watch as the blade bounced off the leg. In response, the Seregios hissed in pain before briefly lifting off to stomp the ground. Every kick was instantaneous, forcing Naruto to dodge before it crushed him to death. As it landed, the Seregios swung its tail, catching an airborne Naruto in the side and throwing him off.

As he recovered from the sudden blow, Naruto immediately rolled away from a volley of sharp blades flying his way. The scales dug into the ground, before detonating into hundreds of tiny shards. He turned his attention back to his opponent only to see the Seregios galloping towards him on all fours, intent on goring him with its sword-like crest. As it swung its serpentine neck, Naruto vaulted over the attack before rolling under another tail slap and finishing the movement by slashing at the tail.

"Everyone, cover your eyes!" Naruto called out, pulling a spherical object out of his pocket, "Cover your eyes, I've got a flash bomb ready!"

As everyone shielded their eyes, Naruto tossed the ball at the Seregios. It exploded upon contact with the wyvern's horn, flooding the monster's vision with a blinding white light. The Seregios screeched in pain as it tried to regain its vision, allowing Mayumi a chance to shoot it in the knees. Javelin-sized arrows deflected off the metallic scales, but the impact was enough to stagger the beast as it struggled. Still, it was able to recover its footing, lodging the rest of her arrows in gaps between the scales on its chest.

"This thing is quick on its feet!" Mayumi shouted, rolling away from a volley of razor-sharp scales, "Help me take out its legs!"

"Give me an opening!" added Kazuko, running into the fray, "Takumi, you and Naruto get on its back and try to do as much damage as you can."

"Got it! One Spinebreaker coming up!" Takumi roared. Takumi leaped onto the skull, stabbing the Seregios in the neck, drenching him in blood. In response, the wyvern flung him off its neck, its scales rattling as it hissed in rage. Its scales flared as it shrieked, dancing in place to fling razor-sharp blades in all directions.

Takumi ducked, and rolled under the first volley. The Sergios growled and fired off another volley. The hunter cursed and crossed his arms, blades exploding around him, knocking him into the trees as the fragments slashed at his body and clothing.

"Takumi! You alright!?" yelled Mayumi.

"Well now I know how shredded cheese feels like!" Takumi mumbled, shaking his head and recovering, his hunter's vitality showing through. He had a good number of cuts on his body from the organic shrapnel; thankfully, other than a bit of clothing and armor damage, none of his vitals were hit.

As Takumi stood by to catch his breath, Kazuko rushed in with her spine-sword, rolling under a sweep of the Seregios's bladed wing-tips before taking a swing at one of its legs. The Seregios hovered in the air and began stomping the ground, giving the girl no chance to counter its dancelike movements. Kazuko found her opening to swing her blade at one leg, but was caught in a quick sweep of the Flying Wyvern's other leg, before rolling away from another tail slam. Once she'd gotten far enough away, the Seregios sent a barrage of sharp scales flying in her direction.

"Kazuko!" Takumi cried, taking steps towards her.

Naruto wrapped an arm around Kazuko wrapped an arm around her, and and used his insect glaive to propel them both away from the volley of exploding blades. He also fired a dart at the Seregios' face, allowing the beetle to tear into the wound in the wyvern's eye before it flew back towards him. As they landed, Takumi reached out to help Kazuko up. "Thanks, man!"

Naruto nodded in response. The four Hunters turned to regard the Seregios, watching as it struggled to get its vision back.

"Damn it!" Mayumi cursed, "That thing can really take a beating!"

"I've got an idea," Naruto suggested, "You guys try to hold it there for as long as you can. I'm gonna try something I've never done before!"

"Is this something that's gonna get us killed?" Takumi asked.

"Not if we do it right!" Naruto snapped, the Kinsect filling a vial on his bracer with a red fluid, "But first, I need the other two essences before I pull this off!"

The Seregios shook off its blindness, glaring at the aspiring Hunters with death in its remaining eye.

"Scatter!" Naruto shouted. The four Hunters ran in different directions as it sent another volley of blades their way. Mayumi took potshots at the creature with her bow as she circled it, firing multiple arrows in a single volley. Several arrows deflected off the scales, but several got through the chinks in the armor, getting its attention enough for Kazuko and Takumi to get under the wyvern to attack its legs in an attempt to cripple it. As they tried to cripple the monster, the Seregios danced around their swings, attempting to stomp them into the ground; whenever it saw the opportunity to do so, it would fling volleys of sharp scales at Mayumi, forcing her to take cover.

With the beast's attention focused on his erstwhile colleagues, an airborne Naruto impaled the Seregios's wing with the other end of his insect glaive, leaving his Kinsect behind to chew through the webbing. Darting through the air, he took the opportunity to swing his insect glaive, cutting into the Seregios' armored neck and shoulder as he spun like a pinwheel. He finally ended the attack with a heavy downwards swing, allowing Takumi the opportunity to slice at the underside of its neck as he ran towards the head. Once he made it to his destination, the Kawa Hunter slid to a stop, spinning with his short swords at high speed before rolling up the Seregios' back at high speed, carving into its back like a buzzsaw.

As Naruto landed, the Kinsect returned to his bracer, filling another vial with a white fluid. Mayumi took a shot at the Seregios' head, firing a volley of arrows at its eye; the wyvern ducked its head from the arrows, before kicking Kazuko away. Naruto ran beneath the wyvern, taking advantage of the opportunity to fire a dart at its soft underbelly as he slid underneath, while sending his Kinsect to gather the last essence. At the same time, Takumi rushed in to strike at the legs with one final swing, crippling the animal. The Kinsect unlatched from the Seregios' belly and returned to its master, filling the last vial with an orange fluid.

Naruto smirked as he turned to the rest of his team. "I've got what I need," he shouted, crouching low to the ground, "Hold it in place! Don't let it get away!"

With all the strength he could muster in his legs, Naruto kicked off, launching himself high into the air. When he reached his desired height, he used a strong burst of air from the insect glaive to momentarily slow his descent. For a moment, he thought he'd seen Mangetsu struggling to hold onto the Anjanath's neck, before smashing its head in with his hammer. No time for that now, he thought to himself, turning his attention downward, gotta make sure I get this right.

Naruto sighted his target from above, and immediately shifted his weight, streamlining his body to increase momentum with his insect glaive pointed downward. He could feel the velocity increase as he fired another airburst from the insect glaive. As he neared the Seregios, he released another burst of air, increasing his momentum until he came to a sudden stop on the wyvern's back, driving the blade of his insect glaive deep into its shoulder blade.

The Seregios screeched in pain as Naruto used his weight to pull the insect glaive out of the wound, before digging it back into the nape of the neck as it flailed around, trying to shake him off. To avoid being bucked off the monster, Naruto braced himself with the shaft of his glaive until he regained his balance. Once he regained his bearings, he shifted his weight to flip and roll along the wyvern's neck, gouging wounds in the gaps between scales as he did so. As he neared his destination, Naruto pressed his thighs against the back of the Seregios' head, rearing back his insect glaive before stabbing it deep through the eye. There was no response from the Seregios as Naruto pressed his insect glaive deeper into the wound for good measure. The wyvern collapsed on its own weight, crashing into the ground with a resounding 'thud.'

Naruto wrenched the insect glaive out of the Seregios' eye socket, panting as he walked with a weary swerve in his step. As he was about to fall, Takumi caught him by the shoulder. "I gotcha," he assured, "Gutsy move you pulled there; if you were off on the landing, you'd have died from the fall."

"We did it!" Naruto said, a victorious grin on his face, "We finally did it, dattebayo!"

"Yeah, you did," agreed Mangetsu, approaching the aspiring Hunters with a warm smile, "And you all did pretty well for your first serious hunt."

"How'd it go with the Anjanath?" Naruto asked.

"The big guy ran off after Nii-chan kept whaling on his head," Mikazuki interjected, walking towards them, "I guess we put up such a good fight that he figured his beef with the Seregios just wasn't worth it anymore. That, and it wasn't very sporting of us to kill him when he was busted up before the fight, so we let him go."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Well, at least we got what we came for, he thought.

"Anyway, enough about that," Mangetsu sighed, "The fact that you kids were able to take on a Seregios and win is cause for celebration. After we carve it up, we're heading back to the Lodge. All four of you deserve to be inducted into the Guild as full Hunters!"

Naruto's smile widened and turned to the three hunters who were checking themselves over. Takumi looked up and returned the smile. "Thanks man, you saved all of us."

"I would've done the same, dattebayo."

…

[Hokage's Office]

As he watched Naruto and the Kawa hunters carve up the Seregios with their knives, Hiruzen could not help but cheer inwardly as to their victory. Because the Moon Siblings' word carried a lot of weight, there was no doubt that they would get that Hunting License for their performance. That, in itself was worthy of celebration.

"Well, phase one of the experiment's done," he mused to himself, "Now for phase two…"

…

[Great Hall, Konoha Hunting Lodge]

{Play: "Immortals" by Fall Out Boy, from "Big Hero 6"}

Music could be heard in the Great Hall as Naruto admired the newly-made badge holder with no small amount of pride. It was bound in leather, and reinforced with what he heard were tough, spring steel plates. The spine of the badge holder had a loop with a keyring attached to it so that he could chain it to a belt loop. The back of the holder had a small pocket to carry a pad for whenever he got permission to hunt in different countries.

The cover, however, had a solid brass medallion riveted on, with 火 right below it. The medallion had the mark of the Guild stamped into it, with four crests in the cardinal directions representing ideals that the Hunters upheld. Naruto remembered them well, because the siblings drilled them into his head on day one of his training: respect for nature; prosperity from nature; crafting from nature; and finally, life as a community.

Underneath the cover was the actual Hunting License. It was a small, plastic card in a transparent sleeve with his name and information engraved on it, and his picture printed on the upper-left corner. In addition, it was laminated with a special lacquer that would show the Guild's crest under a UV lamp to prevent counterfeiting.

As he pocketed his badge, Naruto turned his attention to the festivities going on in the Great Hall. Near the back of the hall, he could see Felynes filling a large table with steaming large plates. He divided the weapon-making parts of the Seregios between himself and the Kawa Hunters; the rest were given to the Felyne chefs for the feast. Large sausages made from its organs, steaks made from its tail, even its ribs were turned into sumptuous dishes━nothing went to waste.

He spotted the Kawa Hunters dancing in the distance to music being played from the jukebox with the other native Hunters of all races. Some were at the bar or the tables, stuffing their faces while washing down their food with every drink on tap. Overall, everyone enjoyed themselves in different ways.

"Congrats on finally making it," Mikazuki announced, her voice raised over the music, "You earned it."

"Yeah, well, I had good teachers," Naruto replied, looking towards her, "Where's Mangetsu-sensei?"

"He's going crazy in the kitchen," she answered, "I swear, he must be in paradise, playing head chef with the Felynes. By the way, I've got a gift for you."

Mikazuki handed Naruto an item that looked like the lovechild between a crossbow and a buckler. It had a mechanism with a small rail on top, and an arrow-launcher below. The limbs of the bow, and the lever at the back were made of horn. Underneath the whole thing was a leather bracer with a buckle that allowed it to fit all sizes.

"It's our dad's slinger," explained Mikazuki, "It's standard-issue to all Research Commission Hunters, but some people manage to get their hands on one. It's every bit as useful as your knife; you can use it to distract your prey, set off traps from afar, even hitch a ride on the bigger monsters."

"It's nice," Naruto noted, pulling the lever, watching as the limbs of the bow locked in place, "Thanks, I'll treasure this, dattebayo."

"Take care of yourself out there, Naruto," said Mikazuki, pulling Naruto in for a hug, "Whatever path you choose, there will always be a place for you here in the lodge. Now get back out there, you should be celebrating."

Naruto nodded gratefully before walking onto the dance floor.

…

 _ **A/N: And finally, we're done.**_

 _ **With any luck, this will tide people over until the next chapter.**_

 _ **Time training under the Moon Siblings, then a trial by fire with everyone's favorite invader, Steve. We'll see if it makes any difference in the Academy. Rest assured, he'll still be dealing with other monsters in the future, some of which will be original, and unique to the Shinobi Nations. But we'll still have plenty of known monsters coming back…such as JhoJho.**_

 _ **Yes, Naruto will likely get a palico…and it'd be interesting to see how (s)he will interact with Akamaru. But for that, I'm looking into cat breeds as a basis for the palico in question…besides the Siamese cat.**_

 _ **Credit goes to UnitedOsprey1991 for letting me use his Kawa Hunter team again. As well as the people on Discord, Soleneus, and NorthSouthGorem for being good sounding boards for ideas; and especially NorthSouth for beta-reading this chapter. Give all of them a read, would you kindly?**_


	4. Back to School

_**A/N: And now we finally have a new chapter. Lots of decisions were being made, but filler or not, probably best to establish who else is going to be showing up in the future. Mark my words, there will more than a few Rule 63 targets; including a favorite target we all know and love.**_

 _ **This experimental chapter, and possibly the next one, will include a bit of jumping to and from the past. But don't worry, we'll be sticking strictly to the past within the next two chapters.**_

 _ **In any case, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Hi no Kuni Wilderness]

"…So that's how you got your Hunting License, dattebasa?" asked a boy in a black jacket with red trim. He had two pairs of whisker-marks on his cheeks, and his creamy blond hair was splayed in all directions.

He sat at a campfire with a number of other children as trout was grilled on a portable rack. The smell of salt, lemon, and fennel permeated the air as a man and a tabby Felyne went to work grilling fish, and frying eggs. There were also a good number of adults present, either helping at the campfire, or waiting at the portable table for breakfast to be served. The sound of their conversations intermingled with the sizzling of food, and the calming ambience of nature.

The man in question had sun-kissed hair, and three whisker-marks on each of his cheeks. He wore clothes suitable for the outdoors: loose-fit cargo pants and a long-sleeve would protect from mosquitoes without compromising on freedom of movement. His blue eyes focused on the task at hand, trying to avoid burning the food.

"Pretty much," answered the man, turning his attention back to the eggs, "Though to be honest, the Hunter training helped toughen me up for the Shinobi life. I'll tell ya, it made my time _a lot_ easier in the Academy."

"So how was your first day back?" asked a little girl in an orange sundress. Just like the blond, she too had two pairs of whisker-marks on her cheeks; the only difference being that her hair was the color of the midnight sky.

The man only smiled as he flipped the eggs. "Oh, it was just your typical day…"

* * *

[Konoha Ninja Academy, roughly twenty years ago]

Naruto walked down the streets towards the Hunter Tower with a confident stride; a little earlier than he normally liked. During his time under the Moon Siblings, he'd become accustomed to waking up in the early hours so that he would have more time to hunt the prey of the day. Today however, was a new day; he'd resolved to cut down on his pranking spree, and take his classes more seriously. This meant dressing a little more seriously, starting with an indigo sport shirt with dull, orange sleeves, and a pair of baggy, dark blue cargo pants. Holstered across the small of his back was his knife, in the event he needed it.

"Where are we going, meowster?" asked a small, voice next to him. It belonged to a long-haired Felyne with bright, blue-green eyes. Her fit body was covered in thick fur with an alternating pattern of grey and black tabby stripes, and she stood about as high as the bottom of Naruto's rib cage, making her fairly large for her species. Her attire consisted of a hard leather vest, a pair of tied pants that ballooned at the bottom, and a bandanna that was wrapped around her head, exposing soft, pointed ears. Slung across her back what was best described as a drum on a stick, with a large paw print painted on the heads.

"The Ninja Academy," answered Naruto, "I got the license so that I can go back there and be a Shinobi. Hopefully, I'll do better this time around."

"Well, wherever you go, I'll go, pawtner."

"Thanks, Taeko."

"And what would you two be doing with those weapons here?" asked a voice from behind, startling the boy as he was about to open the doors.

Naruto and Taeko flinched in shock, before turning to face a Shinobi with a small stack of papers tucked under his arm. He wore his hair in a ponytail, and he had a long scar going across the bridge of his nose. "Been a while, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka looked back at Naruto with confusion, before recognition dawned on his features. "Naruto? It's been so long! You look better!"

"I _feel_ better, dattebayo!" Naruto answered, "All that time in the wilderness did a lot of good."

"I can see that," Iruka noted, nodding approvingly before turning his attention to the Felyne, "And who's this?"

"That's Taeko, my Palico," said Naruto, introducing the tabby Felyne, "I formed a contract with her a couple months ago."

"How do you do?" replied Taeko, offering her paw to shake.

Iruka gratefully returned the handshake before turning his attention back to Naruto. "It's nice to see you're doing better, but I have to ask: why the weapons?"

"I kinda feel naked without my knife," the blond replied simply, "Living out in the wilderness for a year and a half _really_ makes you want to keep it with you at all times."

After nodding in understanding, Iruka's voice became slightly sterner. "Well, if that's the case, then please don't bring it to class with you after today. It's a safe environment in the classroom, so there's no need for weapons."

The chūnin teacher paused as he gripped the doorknob. "By the way, the Hokage says you've changed, but I'm keeping a close eye on you this year. We've enacted a three-strikes policy in class after your year-long pranking spree; meaning if you screw up badly enough three times, you'll be expelled for the year, which means a second strike for you. You understand me?"

"It stays outside of class," Naruto promised, making an x-shape across his chest, "I'll make sure of it, dattebayo."

Iruka looked back at his student with a skeptical expression on his face. "We'll see about that."

The teacher turned the knob, allowing Naruto and Taeko passage into the classroom. From there, the duo could see the entire classroom going about their business, with more than a few conversations going on; mostly from the first-timers. Others simply eyed the two of them with curiosity as they took to their seats.

"Well look who's back!" called a voice from the stands, catching everyone's attention, "It's been a while, Naruto!"

Naruto and Taeko glanced up at the stands to find that the speaker was a boy that waved at them. His hair and his eyes looked wild, giving him an almost canine appearance. He wore a fur-lined coat with an off-white Great Pyrenees puppy peeking out from the collar, and he had the red Inuzuka fang-marks tattooed on his cheeks.

Sitting next to him was a new face in class, also with the Inuzuka fang-marks, and her deep brown hair was just as disheveled. She wore a hooded sweater with a pouch in front, and a pair of calf-length pants. Her companions were a pair of German Shepherd puppies cozying up at her ankles. Naruto had seen her outside of class several times before, and knew she was the boy's younger sister. He could see from her expression that she too was glad to see him back.

Flanking them on both sides were two other students. One wore sunglasses, the collar of his trench coat covered the lower half of his face, and his hair was done up in a frizzled afro. He sat in place silently, observing everything that was going on; though Naruto could feel his gaze upon him.

The girl on the other hand, was trying to avert her gaze from Naruto, her fingers tented. Her skin took on a red hue that contrasted with bobbed, violet hair and pale, lilac eyes that marked her as a Hyūga. The outfit she wore was simple: a khaki hoodie, and dark blue pants.

"How's it going, Kiba?" Naruto greeted, before turning his attention to the Inuzuka girl, "Ashi, nice to see you again."

"Likewise," answered Ashi, waving back at Naruto, "And I see you've got a new friend with you."

"You know these kids, meowster?" asked Taeko.

Naruto nodded in response. "Yeah, Inuzuka Kiba and Ashi; their mom's the clan head," He then indicated the Hyūga girl, who squeaked as he pointed at her. "Wallflower up there is Hyūga Hinata." His finger then settled upon the boy with the sunglasses, "And the kid with the afro is Aburame Shino."

"Ah great," groaned a boy with a pineapple-shaped ponytail, sitting a few tiers away from the Inuzukas, "Looks like things are gonna be more interesting than I generally like."

"He's just glad you're back," assured a rotund, ginger-haired boy chomping on a bag of chips. "Me too."

"Sleepyhead over there is Nara Shikamaru, and the kid next to him is Akimichi Choji," Naruto finished.

"Nice to meet you all," added Taeko, bowing from the waist, "A furriend of my meowster is a furriend of mine, nya."

As the duo found a seat, Naruto could see a number of familiar faces in class, and quite a few new ones. Some were happy to see him back, others looked at him with their noses up in the air as if they'd never smelled a fart before. His Hunter training sharpened his senses enough to hear some of their whispers.

" _That's_ Naruto?" a girl asked her friend.

"He's bulked up," noted a boy.

"Eh, he's flunked once, he's gonna flunk again," cursed a boy.

"Yeah," agreed a girl, "He's nothing compared to Sasuke-kun."

It was barely a few seconds since Naruto and Taeko settled down before a boy and a girl entered the classroom; both with pale skin, coal black hair, and onyx eyes. The boy wore a dark blue headband that held up his duck-butt hairstyle, a pair of khaki cargo shorts, and the Uchiha gunbai embroidered on the back of his dark blue shirt. There was a serious expression on his face as he surveyed the classroom for a seat.

The girl on the other hand, seemed a little more laid-back, as she helped the boy in his search. She wore a cyan shirt with the Uchiha gunbai on its short sleeves, a pair of form-fitting athletic shorts, and a deep red fanny pack on the small of her back. Naruto could count the days he'd seen the pair apart on one hand; from what he understood, that kind of thing was common when brothers and sisters were literally born on the same day.

"Speak of the devil," Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Ne! Ne! Nii-chan, look who's back!" the Uchiha girl called, waving enthusiastically in his direction, "Been a while, Naruto-kun!"

"Good to see you again, Natsuki," answered Naruto, returning the wave in kind.

The elder Uchiha twin scoffed. "Whatever, let's just sit down."

"Nice to see you too, Sasuke," Naruto greeted with venom in his tone, as he reclined in his seat. The Uchiha twins settled down next to Naruto, with Sasuke brooding in between his sister and the blond. Taeko sat next to him, licking the back of her paw.

The doors burst open, allowing passage for two girls that pressed against each other shoulder to shoulder as they ran down the stairs. "I already beat you by a toe, Forehead!" shouted the blonde in the purple blouse.

"Not on your life, Ino-pig!" countered the pinkette in the red qipao.

As they neared Naruto's aisle, the pinkette quickly cut in front of the blonde. "Ha! True love wins after all!"

The pink-haired fangirl's rush towards Sasuke's seat had come to a halt when she heard a cat yowling in pain. She recoiled and found the Felyne glaring up at her.

"That hurt, nya!" snarled Taeko. She swept her tail out from under the fangirl's foot, and quickly reached for her hammer. A single upwards swing sent the pinkette flying back out the aisle with a resounding 'thump,' much to her blonde rival's shock.

* * *

[Hi no Kuni Wilderness, modern day]

"Wait a minute, that's how it happened?" interrupted a black-haired, bespectacled little girl in a red qipao, mouth agog in disbelief.

"I can vouch for that," added a green-eyed blonde woman, "From then on, Taeko and your mom never got along."

"And a cat never furgets who steps on her tail," called the Felyne, turning the fish.

The meganekko shuddered at the Palico's casual tone, before noticing a pink-haired woman with a diamond mark on her forehead glaring at the Felyne from the corner of her eye. She turned red with embarrassment as she saw the volley of daggers being flung both ways between them.

"Well what happened after that?" asked a plump, ginger-girl with dark skin as she chewed on her trout.

The Hunter smiled, continuing his story.

* * *

[Konoha Ninja Academy, roughly twenty years ago]

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out running towards the pinkette.

As he helped Sakura get back up on her feet, she quickly pushed him aside. "What was that for, fur-face?!" she shouted.

"You ran over my tail, nya!" Taeko shot back, pointing the head of her hammer at Sakura, "Do you have any idea how much that hurts?!"

Sakura sputtered, before settling on a comeback. "Well _you_ were in my way!"

"And _you_ should watch where you're stomping, fatty!" Taeko fired back.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock; her mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. It didn't take long for her to recover. "Shut up, you little furball!" she roared, "Nothing's gonna stop me from sitting next to Sasuke-kun!"

Taeko yowled, dropping her hammer in favor of pouncing at Sakura with her claws extended. Naruto reached around under her arms in midair, and pulled her away from Sakura's face. Her struggling slowed to a halt as he gently stroked her fur; as she began to settle down, she let her arms drop in favor of glaring daggers at Sakura. "Sorry for the trouble," Naruto apologized, "We'll just move so you can bother Sasuke instead."

"Naruto? Is that you?" asked Ino, looking at him curiously, "My god, you look so…different!"

"Yeah well, that's what training under the Hunters gets you," answered Naruto, almost embarrassed, " _Really_ makes you appreciate supermarkets all the more, dattebayo."

"All right then, settle down class," announced Iruka, taking his place with Mizuki next to him, "As you can see, we have more than a few new faces this year, including a returning student…"

Naruto looked around, seeing the mix of reactions from the students, barring the clan heirs. Some were curious as to what he'd learned from the Hunters, others were smug at their prospects of outdoing him; either way, he was the center of attention.

"…However, I'd like to introduce a new teacher today," added Iruka, before turning his attention to the door, "You may come in now."

The door opened with a heavy *clunk* as a tall woman in a vest and hakama strode into the classroom. Slender, digitigrade legs with three clawed toes on each of her bare feet; bandaged hands each with three fingers and an opposable thumb; and long, pointed ears marked her as a fairly young Wyverian. She had pitch-black, shoulder-length hair that was swept back into a small ponytail, and sleepy brown eyes that complemented her almost avian facial features. All she wore to cover her modesty was a sarashi holding back a generous bust that added a slight her rectangular figure, and she had a relatively small knife sheathed in a holster on her chest. As she stood next to Iruka, Naruto eyeballed her to be a good head taller than him.

Wyverians were fewer in number and longer-lived compared to humans; the ones that could use chakra well enough to be Shinobi even more so. They were a peaceful race of wyvern-like people that had strong ties to the Guild. Some of the younger ones worked as Hunters themselves, while the elders would often retire into quieter jobs, such as village chieftains, teachers or Guild researchers.

"Everyone, I'd like for you to meet Yanagi Fumi," Iruka introduced, "She's on loan from the Konoha Hunter's Guild to teach a survival course, so that you'll have better odds out in the wilderness."

The new teacher simply raised her hand, her greeting a simple "Howdy."

Iruka settled down in his seat, allowing Fumi to take the podium. "Well then, let's get this started. Now 'fore we begin…" as she spoke, the Wyverian teacher noted that Sasuke had raised hand, "Yeah?"

"Why are we learning this?" Sasuke asked, "We aren't training to be Hunters, so why bother?"

Natsuki swatted her older brother across the back of the head. "I reckon that's a pretty darn good question," answered Fumi, before turning her attention to the entire class, "Can y'all tell me what's the most likely thing to kill you out in the wilderness between the villages?"

Naruto knew the answer, but refrained from answering.

"Is it bandits?" asked one student.

"Enemy Shinobi?"

"Psycho killers?"

"Good answers, but aside from wars, ya really don't die to people that much in the wilds," answered Fumi, "I reckon 'bout 90, maybe 95% o' the time, it's _nature_ that kills y'all out there. Whether it's dehydration, eating a poisonous mushroom, or when a wild animal gits ya, Mother Nature's got a lotta creative ways o' killin' y'all. I'd have shown you kids how to survive all that, but today, some dunderhead forgot to book me a training ground to show ya what I mean. So I'm gonna let y'all have a pass on the practical lessons for now."

The next hour consisted of Fumi discussing with students on quite a few things Naruto already knew from training with the Moon Siblings, notably on the most basic things you never left home without. She also gave the students a brief rundown on the different types of monsters in the world. As Fumi delivered her lesson, he thought he'd heard a subtle hint of bitterness in her voice, as though she'd lost someone a long time ago, and still hadn't gotten over it.

After that, Naruto had to sit through another hour of Iruka going through the history of the village. As much as he appreciated the chūnin's enthusiasm on the subject, his delivery was fairly slow, making it hard to stay awake. Still, it interested him to learn that Iruka had a good amount of knowledge about the Guild's history too; likely from spending a lot of time with the Moon Siblings.

Things picked up a bit in the next subject, geography; apparently, Iruka was also well-read on the subject, especially after hanging around the Moon Siblings a lot. From there, Naruto was made aware of the continents that the Guild referred to as the Old World and the New World. The Old World had a greater history, with a lot of different cultures living there. It was where the Hunter's Guild was headquartered, and where some of the largest, most powerful monsters lived. The political climate over there was relatively calm, and there were no Shinobi to be found; the only serious conflict being the occasional tussle with monsters.

There wasn't much known about the New World however, as the Guild was still exploring it years after what they called the "Zorah Magdaros Expedition." What _was_ known was that its largest base and colony was Astera, and that new species kept getting discovered there on an almost monthly basis. The problem was that going there was largely considered a one-way trip, with few people ever returning. Because of this, only the best of the best in Hunters, researchers, and sometimes Shinobi, were given the training and opportunity to go there.

While the Shinobi Nations were considered a gateway between the two continents, they were technically part of the Old World since the Clan Wars. Their proximity to both continents meant that creatures from both regions could be seen in addition to native species; the reason being the Old and New Worlds used to be a huge piece of land before splitting apart, and the Shinobi Nations were in the middle. This made it a convenient place for the Guild to find potential recruits to send to Astera, and was considered the last stop for anyone that had doubts about going to the New World.

Naruto did his best to sit still until the teachers gave their permission to leave the class for lunch break. After that, came physical education; Naruto noted that only the new students were not with his group; likely to teach them the standard Academy taijutsu form, before letting them spar. Others, who had taken this class before were given to Mizuki; just to see if they remembered their forms.

He watched as civilian-born and Shinobi children were put in an arena, fighting each other in bare-handed combat…with most of the Shinobi children beating their civilian-born counterparts. What impressed Naruto the most were the fights between the clan heirs; none of the fights between the heirs and the other children lasted too long, but fighting each other was a much better matchup. Shikamaru and Shino's fight lasted an entire five minutes, each one trying to find a weakness in their defense; Choji flipped his opponent over his shoulder for calling him fat; Hinata fought to a draw with Natsuki. Overall, it was a fairly busy trial run.

"Your turn, Naruto!" Mizuki called out, "Your opponent will be Sanzaemon Daigō."

A slightly taller boy with a buzz cut walked into the arena, cracking his knuckles in an attempt to intimidate Naruto. He wore a simple shirt and shorts as he stared him down with a cocky smirk on his face. Naruto recognized him quickly as one of the kids he pranked for bullying a little girl.

Naruto walked down the bleachers until was stopped by Mizuki, who reached out with his hand. "Your knife please?"

Sighing in exasperation, Naruto pulled the entire holster off his belt loops before presenting it to the teacher. "Please don't lose it."

As soon as Naruto stopped at the ring, he could hear Daigō chuckling darkly. "Ain't so tough without your oversized toothpick now, are ya?" he taunted, "And you don't even have your little traps or your furball to help you this time!"

"I'll be fine, dattebayo," Naruto countered, cracking his neck before slipping into a stance.

"Y'know, I still haven't paid ya back for sticking your nose where it don't belong," Daigō groused, "Hell, I still remember how that paint bucket fell on my head. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get oil paint off?!"

"Yeah, well, last I checked, only morons bullied little girls," Naruto countered, "You and your crew just so happen to be the biggest ones at the time."

"Hajime!" Mizuki announced, cutting off Daigō from his response.

Daigō rushed Naruto with a clenched fist screaming in rage, and intent on smashing his face in with a haymaker. Naruto deflected the punch and kicked Daigō in the shin, eliciting a yelp of pain; he then proceeded to knee the taller boy in the groin, followed by slapping him in both ears as he fell on his knees. Once his opponent was disoriented, Naruto moved behind Daigō to grab him by the elbows before planting his foot on the bully's spine and pulling. Daigō's agonized moans elicited more than a few cringes from the students observing the fight; all in all, it had taken Naruto a good fifteen seconds to lock Daigō in a submission hold.

"You can end this fight the hard way, or the easy way," Naruto grunted, continuing to pull on Daigō's arms, "You give up, I let go; easy as that. You don't, and you're only gonna hurt more."

"Screw you!" Daigō screamed.

Naruto sighed in exasperation, before releasing the boy's wrists to pull him up by the hair. Once Daigō was on his feet, he wrapped his arms under the bully's shoulders before bending back, slamming the boy's body into the floor. As Naruto stood back up, he took a moment to massage his back after the suplex; from the corner of his eye, he saw Daigō squirming on the floor and groaning in pain. If it weren't for the fact that the arena was filled with thick, carved-up flakes of rubber, the bully's brains would have been splattered all over the floor.

"I warned you," Naruto muttered under his breath, massaging his neck.

"Naruto, that's not the standard Academy style," Iruka admonished, helping Daigō up to his feet, "Who taught you that?"

"The Moon Siblings, probably the toughest fighters I know," Naruto answered, watching as Iruka's eyes widened in shock, "By the way, Mikazuki-sensei told me to tell you that you still owe her a knife and dinner."

Everyone was stunned to silence as Naruto walked up to the bleachers. It was apparent that there was a marked improvement over the year or so he'd been suspended from school; many were curious as to exactly _how much_ he'd improved.

…

[Konoha Farmer's Market, after class]

The scent of fresh foods filled Naruto's nostrils as he looked around for tonight, and perhaps tomorrow's dinner. Fruits and vegetables filled the stalls in the produce section with vibrant colors, mingling with the subtle scent of fresh meats and eggs that gave suggestions for scrumptious dishes. Head chefs made their orders for the next day's menu here, some of whom had to fight with the laymen who simply wanted better ingredients than in a supermarket. And while it competed with the Nyan-Town Farmer's Market, the actual Konoha Farmer's Market still had a number of unique items in its stalls that drew in its fair share of customers.

Naruto and Taeko walked down the streets, spotting quite a few Hunters and their Palicos among the shoppers perusing the stalls for fresh foods. There were even a few who were selling their prey to butchers looking for exotic goods to sell. No surprise that much of the Guild had a lot of gourmands in their ranks, as one of the first lessons he was taught was the difference between good and bad ingredients, and how to cook them. It was utterly humiliating for anyone to be poisoned by their own cooking, which was why foraging and culinary arts were among the first things a Hunter learned before picking up a weapon.

Looking through the stalls, Naruto found some beef briskets being refrigerated at the butcher's; deep red meat with a bit of marbling in each cube. Nearby, he could spot Taeko eyeing large, red-hot sausages dangling above the other cuts of meat; and those were only the mundane foods. He could also spot a steak from a wyvern's tail dangling near the back, along with what looked like a variety of Kelbi cuts from rib racks to legs.

"Excuse me, how much for the beef briskets?" Naruto asked.

The stall owner looked over the counter. He was a heavyset man nearing his forties, with a friendly smile on his face. Upon spotting Naruto, any congeniality he'd had earlier turned ugly pretty quickly as his face had twisted into a hate-filled snarl. "I ain't selling to you!"

"Why not?"

"You know why, ya little bastard!" shouted the butcher, "And take that mangy little furball of yours with you before I get really mad!"

"Hey!" Taeko shouted back indignantly.

"Well last I checked, it's bad service to turn customers away this fast," Naruto shot back.

"Yeah, but this is _my_ stall," retorted the butcher, "And here, I can serve whoever I damn well please."

The staring contest between the two of them went on for several seconds before Naruto sighed in frustration. "Fine, you win," he finally said, earning a victorious smirk from the butcher, "I'll bet some of your fancy stuff's illegal anyway, dattebayo."

The butcher glared at Naruto with no shortage of hatred in his eyes. "I beg your pardon?"

"Well of course I'm not talking about the Kelbi cuts, because they _are_ in season right now," Naruto pointed out, indicating the placard that read '50 ryō/kg' below the tailbone steak, "But that wyvern tail's in too good a condition to warrant a price _that_ reasonable, when it should be no less than 100, maybe 120 on average at that quality. As far as I can tell, _nobody_ sells a huge, high-quality piece of meat at a price _this_ good unless they were trying to get rid of it fast. That, and the fact that you don't have any customers fighting over it means you're either a poacher, or you're working _with_ one."

The butcher scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "What're you gonna do about it? Report me to the Guild?"

This time, it was Naruto's turn to smirk confidently. "Funny you should say that, dattebayo."

Without preamble, Naruto pulled his badge holder out of his back pocket, opening it to show his Hunting License. As the butcher took a moment to study the item in question, his arrogant smirk dropped considerably and his paled. The fact that one could walk around with a Hunting License without fear of repercussions meant that the holder was legitimately associated with the Guild. Any attempt at faking a Hunting License, or even _using_ a fake, warranted a visit from the Guild Knights; and given that this was a serious issue in the eyes of the Guild, said visit was often lethal to all guilty parties—assuming of course, the Shinobi didn't get there first. In short, Naruto could potentially snitch on the butcher at any given moment, which would precipitate a visit from a Guild Knight on the accusation of being associated with poachers.

"What do you want?" asked the butcher, his fear turning to rage.

"Nothing much, dattebayo," Naruto answered simply, putting the badge back in his pocket, "Just one kilo of beef briskets, and one of your sausages for my palico at their marked prices. As long as you keep serving me like any other customer, I'll keep quiet about you being involved in poaching; if you're mean to me for no good reason, then I sing like a canary. Fair enough?"

Trembling in fury, the butcher reluctantly went to work with Naruto's requests. After shoving his orders at the boy's face, he received his money in exchange.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" said Naruto, waving casually as he left the butcher staring hatefully at his back.

Naruto bumped into someone, knocking them down on their asses; the sound of a container hitting to the ground with a heavy jingle filled the air as they landed.

"Watch where you're going!" barked a female voice in front of him.

"Sorry about that!" said Naruto, struggling to regain his bearings. Having a look to the box, he sighed in relief as the contents hadn't spilled over.

As he sat up, he noted that the person he ran into was a girl slightly older than himself, with her dark brown hair done up in a pair of buns and held up with a hitai-ate that marked her as a Kunoichi. She wore a pink, sleeveless qipao with a short tail that contrasted with her dark-colored pants. She had a pretty slim, subtly pear-shaped body type, with a modest bust for her age.

She was flanked by two other Kunoichi, each with a box in her hands; one in khaki clothing, the other in a green jumpsuit. The latter had a slim, muscular, banana figure with very subtle, but developing curves that showed under her near-skintight clothes. Her hair was done up in a boyish bowl cut that added to the adorability of her large eyes, and her skin was of a healthy tan from exercising outdoors very often. The bandages around her forearms spoke of the amount of work she put into her training. In addition to her green jumpsuit, she wore a pair of orange leg warmers, and her hitai-ate was worn around her waist like a belt.

The girl in khaki other wore her hitai-ate like a headband to hold up long, ebon hair that contrasted against smooth skin about as pale as the midnight moon. Her snow-white eyes designated her as a Hyūga, just like Hinata; she even shared some subtle features with the younger girl. While she wasn't as muscular as the green girl, there was still some power hidden away in her delicate and effeminate frame. In addition, Naruto noticed a subtle swagger in her gait that spoke of a life in the upper-class.

Naruto picked up his groceries with one hand, reaching out with the other to the Kunoichi. "Here, let me help you out; it's the least I can do."

The bun-haired Kunoichi gratefully accepted the assistance as she was pulled to her feet. As she stood up straight, Naruto picked up the box that fell to the floor.

"Thanks for the assist, really…" Whatever mouse-girl had to say was cut short. She looked at Naruto with a searching gaze.

"What?"

"Foxy-kun?" she asked.

Taking a moment to study the girl before him, Naruto recognized her from the orphanage. Last he'd seen of her, she was adopted by two nice ladies; one in a deep purple kimono with "好" printed all over it, the other in pink and a huge bone boomerang slung across her back. "Tenten? Is that you?"

"It _is_ you!" exclaimed the girl, hopping excitedly before hugging him, "It's been a long time!"

"Meowster, you know this girl?" Taeko asked, looking up at her master in curiosity.

"Taeko, this is Tenten," Naruto introduced, "She was a friend of mine back in the orphanage. Tenten, this is Taeko, my palico."

"I see you're doing better," answered the bun-haired kunoichi, "I guess being out of the village for a while really did you a big favor. I still can't believe you're officially a Hunter!"

"And you're a kunoichi!" Naruto replied excitedly, "Looks like you're moving up! But who are your friends?"

"Yosh! It's so youthful to meet one of Tenten-chan's friends!" cheered the green girl, her voice loud with enthusiasm, "My name is Ryoko…but I prefer Rock Lee!"

"Hyūga Nanase," the Hyūga girl added tersely.

Naruto nodded respectfully to the entire team. "Nice to meet you all."

"So what are you all doing here, nya?" asked Taeko.

"We're doing a delivery mission," she answered, picking up her box, checking to make sure it didn't have any holes in it, "These boxes are gonna go to a smith that works at the Hunting Lodge."

"Ah, I know who you're talking about," Naruto noted, "And it just so happens that I need a new whetstone. So why don't we walk you girls there?"

The walk to the Hunting Lodge was filled with chatter as Naruto and Tenten's team conversed with each other all the way; from there, Naruto was able to catch up with his old friend. From what he'd heard, the nice ladies that adopted Tenten were a lesbian couple looking to truly start a family. One of her foster mothers owned an okonomiyaki restaurant, while the other was a Hunter; besides that, they were competent fighters that served in the village's defense force. Because of that, she had a leg up on the other students in that she was pretty skilled at the weapon arts early on.

Rock Lee on the other hand, was an orphan that wasn't so lucky; still, she never let the it get her down. She may not have been adopted, but her team was family enough…and her sensei was as close as she could get to a parent. To repay her sensei, she vowed to become living proof that _anyone_ could be a Shinobi, with or without chakra. And while her desires and ambitions had led to her becoming a Kunoichi, she had nothing but respect for Hunters and all the hard work they did on a daily basis.

The only one that stayed quiet was Nanase, who simply ignored Naruto as though he were beneath her. He'd heard that a good number of Shinobi just plain didn't like Hunters; he didn't think it was that bad in some. Still, didn't stop everyone from having a good conversation…or story-time.

"So after I jumped, the Kawa Hunters went and bought me time," Naruto explained, "I brought my weight down and stabbed the Seregios through the back. After that, I climbed to its eye and stabbed my Insect Glaive through it; it took a while, but the Seregios finally died."

"Now _that_ was awesome," replied Tenten, looking on at Naruto with astonishment in her eyes. No doubt her Hunter mother had told her fair share of stories in her prime.

"Yosh! I never thought that a monster could be brought down like that!" Lee exclaimed, "The only Shinobi I know of that regularly fights monsters alone is sensei!"

Naruto looked at Ryoko like she'd grown two heads. "Really? Because I thought that most Shinobi were supposed to _lose_ to monsters in a one-on-one fight."

"I can wholeheartedly say that Gal-sensei _isn't_ most Shinobi," added Nanase, for the first time in the walk, "I once saw her fight a pair of Rajang at once. It was a fierce fight, and she'd sustained more than her fair share of injuries, but she beat them both so badly that one ran off with a limp and the other a broken arm. Which begs the question: if Shinobi are capable of taking on monsters alone, then why do we even _need_ Hunters in the first place?"

Whatever retort Naruto had on mind was cut short when a tall, ragged-looking man in a trench coat rushed out from an alleyway. He quickly came to a stop in front of Naruto, pointing a small blade at his face. "All right then bitches, here's how we're gonna do this," he growled, "You're going to throw all your valuables, _and_ your panties to the floor, or your little boy-toy gets an extra hole in his face!"

"We'd really love to, but in case you haven't realized, our hands are kind of full," Nanase snarked, cutting Tenten off from a response.

The mugger grumbled in frustration, before turning his attention to Naruto. "Then _you_ go get their wallets!"

"And why would I do that?" Naruto asked evenly, not the slightest bit perturbed by the knife pointed at his face.

"Oh gee, I dunno a number of reasons, really," the mugger spat out, "Like for one, Kunoichi or not, you can't do shit with your hands full. Secondly, I'm bigger than you and your little furball, which means you're both small and insignificant. And thirdly, in case you haven't realized it yet dumbass, I've got a goddamn knife to your face!"

Inspecting the knife in question and its wielder, Naruto eyeballed the blade to be a good 12 centimeters long. In addition, the mugger seemed a little twitchy in the eyes; as though he were in a rush. Nothing special about this guy; just a robber using a steak knife.

"That's not a knife," said Naruto, chuckling confidently. In one fluid motion, he reached for the small of his back to pull out his own knife. He grinned amicably as he calmly pointed the tip of his own 33-centimeter blade at the now-intimidated mugger's abdomen. " _This_ is a knife!"

Before the mugger could do anything, Naruto carved away at his trench coat. Another cut slashed his belt and the waistline of his pants, allowing them to crumple onto the floor and reveal a pair of pink unicorn boxers. In his overwhelming terror, the mugger's grip on his steak knife slackened, dropping the improvised weapon to the floor in favor of raising his hands in the universal "I surrender" sign.

Naruto waved the tip of his knife off to the side, glaring menacingly at the mugger. Taking it as his cue to leave, the mugger picked up his pants and stumbled as he tried to flee the knife-happy boy as fast as possible. Once the mugger was a good distance away, Naruto turned his attention back to the genin team. "Sorry about that," he said, sheathing his knife, "I really can't stand muggers."

"Typical Hunter," snarked Nanase, "You guys really only know how to solve problems with your knives, don't you?"

"Nanase, be nice!" Tenten snapped, before turning to regard Naruto with an apologetic expression, "Sorry about that; I've heard a lot of the Hyūga had a problem with Hunters, I just didn't think she would be one of them."

"Hey, hey, no probs," Naruto reassured her, "I've heard some Hunters say worse things about Shinobi, dattebayo. Anyway, shall we get going?"

"That was so cool!" shouted a voice from down the alley. Naruto turned to find Inuzuka Ashi looking back at them with an ecstatic expression on her face, accompanied by her puppies.

* * *

[Hi no Kuni Wilderness, modern day]

"Ma never told me about that," added a little Inuzuka girl chomping on her trout, "But hearing that from you sounds so cool!"

"I like how you handled that school bully," added a boy with a bowl cut, "I didn't think anyone could get that strong, that fast."

"Well duh," shot back a girl with pigtails, working on her eggs, "He'd been training almost nonstop, and eating better out in the wilderness! Not to mention he was probably lugging around some of those huge weapons all day."

The man smiled in amusement at the pigtailed girl's almost ecstatic tone when she mentioned 'huge weapons.' He took in the sights and the smells of the outdoors with the children he'd taken out camping; one of the things he looked forward to on his rare vacation days was the opportunity to experience nature firsthand. The other was the time-honored tradition of storytime, where people from all walks of life, especially Hunters and perhaps Shinobi gathered together at the campfire to tell stories.

"So what happened afterward?" asked the black-haired mouse-girl, after being shaking her friend out of her reverie.

"Nothing much, we just visited the smithy at the Hunting Lodge," answered the Hunter, before regarding pigtails with a mischievous smirk, "I'll tell ya, your mom was like a kid in a candy store that day; wouldn't stop bothering Lindholm-jiji and the other smiths."

As if in response to his remark, a small bun bounced off the Hunter's head. He turned his attention to find a woman with buns in her deep brown hair, and a playful grin on her face. Her facial features were very reminiscent of pigtails, only older and wiser. She was accompanied by a slender woman in green with a bob cut that didn't miss a beat of her push-ups.

"Hokage-sama, do we have anymore fish?" asked the portly ginger-girl.

"Not right now," answered the Hokage, "They aren't biting as much today, so we'll probably have to hunt for tonight's dinner too. If can't find anything, then it's a good thing we brought ration kits."

"So what're we gonna do in the meantime?" asked a lazy boy with a pineapple-shaped ponytail laying on a log to look up at the clouds.

"Well, we could see how well you guys remember Fumi-sensei's lessons before we go out," the man replied, "I'm sure your she at least taught you that much. After that, I'll go hunting for dinner and maybe lunch. So what's everyone in the mood for? Chicken? Boar?"

"Ummm…I'll be fine with fish again," answered the black-haired mouse-girl.

"Nah, let's see if we can find some chicken, dattebasa!" interrupted the younger blond.

The grin on the man's face widened with amusement as he listened in on the suggestions the kids were making. Luckily, certain game was in season year round, and didn't require a permit to hunt; if he couldn't find a proper-sized prey to bring to the camp, then it was a guarantee that wild poultry and feral pig. _Even better if we find some of the pigs that Iwagakure let run wild in Hi no Kuni, dattebayo,_ the man thought.

It was a tale a lot of Hunters told in the Great Hall, mostly to poke fun at Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki's attempt to have nature wage war for him. During the Third Shinobi World War, Iwagakure deliberately introduced the Iwa no Kurobuta to the Hi no Kuni wilderness in an attempt to wage ecological warfare on Konoha. Apparently, the idea was to let an invasive species destroy the native wildlife, and Konoha by extension. The Iwa no Kurobuta was a large, vicious, and hardy species of pig that was perfect for the job, as it could survive in any ecosystem, no matter the weather, and could grow to about 136 kg.

The plan was enacted behind the Guild's back, and at least a hundred thousand pigs were let loose into the Hi no Kuni wilderness to try and eat everything in sight. However, when it was time to see the fruits of their plot, Iwagakure was disappointed in the result; or lack thereof. The pigs didn't get big enough to pose a threat to a Konoha Shinobi, and there were just not enough of them to even destroy the village. Had their scouts reported back in time, Ōnoki would've known that Hi no Kuni was going through the early stages of a famine at the time—due to that, the pigs wound up stretching the food supplies of many Hi no Kuni homes, and feeding the native fauna.

When word got out about the incident via rumor mill, the Guild was merciful enough to not pull their Hunters out of Tsuchi no Kuni; not when the population and size of the pigs were already under control. Instead, they considered it an act of generosity on the Tsuchikage's part, feeding a people and wildlife on the brink of starvation. However, it came with the condition that they never do such a thing again.

"What are you thinking?" asked a woman standing next to the Hunter. Her pale, lilac eyes and midnight blue hair marked her as a Hyūga.

"Just about what to eat for tonight," he answered, "And how to prepare it."

The Hyūga woman giggled. "Looks like you're more Hunter than you think."

The Hunter nodded in agreement. "I guess you're right."

"You just enjoy the rest of the day with the kids, but make sure you're back in time for lunch," replied the woman, patting her pants of dust, "It's not everyday you get the time to spend with the family, so treasure these two weeks while you can."

Chuckling in amusement, the Hunter pulled the woman close to him in a one-armed hug. She'd long since grown a spine, but she still turned a cute shade of pink at his touch. It was a rare opportunity to step away from civilization, and away from devices like the handheld games and trading card games kids liked to play nowadays. The only device anyone was allowed to bring were camera phones for photographing nature, and for emergencies.

"I plan to," answered the Hunter, pecking the Hyūga on the cheek, "Don't worry, we'll bring the biggest game for dinner tonight."

"Don't forget to record it before we enjoy," the woman reminded, as the Hunter went back to his tent to prepare for the hunt, "The Guild is still upset about the last time."

"Got it!"

The Hunter lifted the flap to the tent, allowing him and Taeko access to a large space with a chest in the corner. Propped up in the middle was a large, inflatable bed that could fit two adults, with blankets and a large LED lamp at one bedside. There was also a pitcher with a built-in water filter in the event either of them needed a drink at the other bedside, with a box of food-grade water purification tablets nearby for emergencies.

Opening the chest, the Hunter pulled out a suit of armor and organized it into its component pieces, inspecting them carefully. An armored sleeve and spaulders made of red and black Rathalos scales protected his arms. His slinger was of an older model, with bow arms and a lever made from horn, but had seen more than its fair share of use. A specially-treated hard leather and steel cuirass with pockets for extra scrolls and equipment protected the center mass, with a Rathalos scale mantle for extra protection. A Rathalos scale fauld protected his waist while steel and bone greaves guarded his shins. And finally, he wore a Konoha hitai-ate as part of a steel helmet with a small curtain of Rathalos scales behind. Underneath it all was a strong canvas gi and hakama, with a loose weave that would allow his body to breathe while protecting the chinks in his armor. It was effectively a Shinobi's version of the Rathalos armor that provided adequate protection from fire and physical trauma without compromising on agility.

Satisfied with the condition of his armor, the Hunter began to strip down to his skivvies, before putting on the gi and the hakama. After that, came the greaves and the fauld, then the sleeve and the cuirass. Next came the spaulders and the bone helmet, finishing off with a quick inspection of his slinger, making sure every mechanism was working smoothly. Within twenty minutes, he was ready for the hunt; all he had to do was to find the best weapon for the job.

The Hunter found a scroll holstered to the lid of the chest labeled 'armory' and pulled it out. As he unfurled it, he read every line until his eyes came upon one that garnered his interest. Deciding that his choice was appropriate, he cut his finger and ran it across the line; a puff of smoke emanated from the scroll, before dissipating to reveal a sword and shield pair on top of it.

The shield was a complicated piece consisting of a sheath sandwiched between two large, rectangular solid steel blades with a sharpened outer rim. It had a small, pentagonal piece of bronze bolted to the sheath, with a red nine-tailed fox motif painted on it by a small child. Overall, it was designed to be finely-balanced for both offense and defense at the same time.

The sword that fit in the sheath was a 122 cm-long weapon with an ivory grip and a spherical wooden pommel with a blunt spike riveted to the bottom, capable doubling as a machete. The guard was a rounded, rectangular block of wood that was reinforced with a thick plate of brass on top. Its thick, double-edged blade was 91.5 cm of pattern-welded steel that gently tapered to a point, with a phial system about a tenth of a way up from the guard. The nicks and scratches on the wood-like pattern of its blade told stories of combat with humans and monsters alike.

As he studied the weapon before him, the Hunter nodded in approval before sheathing the sword in the shield. The charge blade was by far one of the most versatile weapons he liked; it was a demanding weapon to be sure, but was capable of doing a lot of damage. It combined the familiarity and agility of the sword and shield in one form, with the potential for raw power that the greatsword had in the other, and the ability to switch between the two on a whim.

Taeko's equipment included a spring steel cuirass, vambraces, and helmet, all complemented with Rathalos scales and horns. She wore a Rathalos skin poncho around her neck, the hardened scales adding to the protection she already wore without weighing her down any further. Slung across her back was the head of a large femur bone fitted onto an ornate metal haft with a knuckle-bow at the bottom.

Stepping outside the tent, the Hunter found his hunting party waiting for him. Of the fifteen people that were going on the hunt, there were four other adults present, mainly to supervise the kids. Among them was the woman in green, that was doing push-ups earlier; now she was stretching her legs.

Another was a woman with the Inuzuka fang marks on her face, wearing leather armor with fur pelts. Her companions were a pair of German Shepherds that were roughly as big as a horse, one of whom she was riding. Under the armor, he could make out a somewhat petite form, with a modest bust and a slightly bottom-heavy figure that emphasized her butt and legs.

The only other man in the group was also an Inuzuka with the makings of a goatee, and wore his hair slicked back. He wore a gray, fur-lined hoodie, and he was made up of lean muscle; slightly bulkier than the Inuzuka woman, but still built for speed. His companions were a pack, off-white Great Pyrenees puppies, all of whom were excited for the hunt, if only as scent hounds.

The final woman wore cargo pants with a few plates of steel sewn on. She had a charcoal-gray long-sleeve with the Uzumaki whirlpools on the shoulders, and the Uchiha gunbai on her back. Her feathered hair trailed behind her like the plumage of a raven, contrasting with the red cuirass she wore over her shirt. Her curves were of a subtle hourglass shape, and she was accompanied by a small black Palico with amber eyes with an acorn-shaped shovel slung on its back.

"We ready to go?" asked the Inuzuka.

"Does everyone have their supplies?" asked the Hunter.

The sound of assent filled the air as everyone, child or otherwise, confirmed that they were ready. "Okay, here's the plan," explained the Hunter, "We're gonna go hunting for our dinner in groups of four; one grownup to three kids. If we can't find anything bigger, we're getting Kurobuta, so if any of you sees signs of one, let the grownups know. In the meantime, you kids are gonna gather spices and herbs for tonight. I know Fumi-sensei would've taught you the basics, so let's see if any of you have paid attention in class. Let's get dinner ready!"

The children cheered, before being split into their groups. The Hunter's team consisted of the whiskered boy and girl, and the meganekko. The Inuzuka woman was in charge of the dark-skinned ginger girl, and one boy each from the Yamanaka and Nara clans. Meanwhile, the other Inuzuka kept his eyes on a white-haired boy with yellow eyes, a black-haired girl with clear red eyes, and a girl with more than a passing resemblance to a yuki-onna. The charges assigned to the woman in green were a Hyūga girl, a boy with a bowl cut, and the pigtailed weapons otaku. And finally, the Uchiha woman led a team made up of a girl with shoulder-length black hair and onyx eyes, a purple-haired girl, and green-haired boy with orange-amber eyes.

As they neared the treeline, the five groups split up to cover more ground. After a few minutes walking through the forest, the blond boy spoke up. "So how did your finals go?"

"Now _that_ was an interesting day, dattebayo," explained the Hunter, "Both for good and bad…"

…

 _ **A/N: Looks like Boruto and Himawari are in for a big story here…but all in all, this chapter speaks of Naruto's first day back in class. Though I wonder, who will catch the cameos and mentions that show up here? And there will be more in the future, depending on how I feel.**_

 _ **For the record, I see the Naruto of this story to be something like a Teddy Roosevelt when he becomes Hokage; both are that are also known outdoor enthusiasts. Pretty much a fun president to serve under.**_

 _ **As to what sort of Hunter Weapon Naruto's best at, well you'll see at a later chapter. Plus, he'll probably invent a few of his own weapons later on; maybe even reverse-engineer a few. In any case, you'll see soon enough which weapon Naruto mains.**_

 _ **Please review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

 _ **Translations:**_

 _ **Inuzuka Ashi━her name means 'leg' in Japanese.**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References:**_

 _ **(Last Chapter)**_

 _ **Takumi, Kazuko, and Mayumi━UnitedOsprey's characters**_

 _ **Naruto's Attack━the Dragoon's "Jump" attack from Final Fantasy.**_

 _ **(This Chapter)**_

 _ **Taeko's Species━basically what you get if the Norwegian Forest Cat ever became a Felyne. Those things are brave enough to chase away foxes, ironically enough.**_

 _ **Naruto's fighting style—a combination of pro wrestling and Eskrima, with a dash of kickboxing and Pankration thrown in; it's pretty much the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). Will probably have a good amount of "Street Fighter IV" or "Street Fighter V" Cody Travers thrown in for good measure later.**_

 _ **50 ryō per kilogram—50 ryō is equivalent to about $5 USD in today's money, and 1 kg translates to about 2.2 lbs; the weight of the wyvern tail steak would probably be closer to a good 100, maybe 110 kilograms, translating to a value of at least $5,000 USD depending on its quality.**_

 _ **That's not a knife—straight from "Crocodile Dundee".**_


	5. Forest of Axes

_**A/N: And here we go with another chapter.**_

 _ **Honestly, not sure if I should continue since I have not been getting a lot of reviews for this story. But I do get a lot of favorites and follows here; so that's got to count for something.**_

 _ **Now then, to address a few concerns…namely from the guest reviewer Ningyo.**_

 _ **Now, I'm glad you like it so far. As I said before, the previous chapter was an experiment on pretty much doing the "Princess Bride" movie version's narration. If Future!Naruto telling his kids the story is a turnoff, then rest assured; it'll stay in the past after this. Besides, whoever said I had to follow canon closely even though I've confirmed that Himawari and Boruto are gonna happen? That, and who says he's telling his whole life-story to his children?**_

 _ **Anyway, now that that's done, please do read and review, would you kindly? It helps the creative process when you do. And keep it classy.**_

 _ **…**_

[Konoha Ninja Academy, roughly nineteen years ago]

Naruto sat in the bleachers, weaving ropes made of dogbane bark into a small pouch as students threw kunai and shuriken at the target dummies. He'd already finished making the ropes for this item on the way to class. The day before, he'd found some smooth, round stones that fit in his hand, which would be perfect for what he had in mind. The reason for this was that Iruka once said that there was extra credit for anyone could do this exercise differently. As the students took their turns at the dummy, Naruto finished the pouch.

The extra credit was very necessary; while Naruto did well in physical education and the survival courses, he was somewhat lacking in the academic lessons. He needed the extra credit to help even out his average grades.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you're up!" Iruka announced.

"Good luck, meowster!" Taeko chirped, handing Naruto the pouch of stones before licking the back of her paws.

As he walked towards the target range, Naruto tied the pouch to his left side while holding the rope weapon in his right hand. "What is that?" Iruka asked.

"It's a rock sling, dattebayo," answered Naruto, showing the weapon to his teacher, "It's a really old weapon that shepherds used to kill or scare off wolves. Nobody uses it anymore because of weapons like bows, kunai, and shuriken, but it's reliable and pretty easy to use."

"And why are you using one now, when we've already _got_ kunai and shuriken for you to use?"

"I wouldn't count it out just yet, Iruka-sensei," Naruto countered, "Sure it's old, but I once heard a stone thrown by one of these killed some guy that was as big as a house. Plus, it's easy to make on the fly, and you can easily find ammo for it; just load it with a pretty big rock, and you're good to go. Personally, this is one of the first weapons I'd make if I didn't even have time to make a bow and arrows."

Iruka sighed exasperatedly. "Might as well do a show-and-tell while we're at it. Show us what you've got."

"Just so you know, I've only got five stones," Naruto said, loading a stone into the sling's pouch.

Once he was confident it was loaded properly, Naruto twirled the sling forward at a gradually increasing speed, before letting one string loose. The stone flew towards the dummy at high speed, hitting its head with enough force to elicit a loud 'thunk.' The next four throws hit the dummy either in the head or the center mass, the sound of the impact getting louder as they were thrown harder. After throwing the last stone, Naruto wrapped the sling around his hand and placed it in his pocket.

"So what?" called Daigō from the bleachers, "So you've got a little stringy thing that throws rocks for you! Big deal! We can throw kunai and shuriken, and they're even deadlier than that old toy of yours!"

"Actually Daigō, I can see that in the right hands, the rock sling _is_ a pretty dangerous weapon, especially when the user has a dōjutsu," explained Iruka, defending Naruto, "The rocks thrown by that thing can fly so fast, it could open a pretty big hole in your skull; and on top of that, it can use any kind of ammo that can fit in the pouch. Overall, I'd approve of it as an improvised solution, but I'd much rather trust my kunai and shuriken."

Naruto smirked, before taking his place at the bleachers. After the other students attempted their tosses, it was time for the second final, which was pretty much a race. At first, it seemed like a standard time trial; one by one, students would run the 400-meter course to press a bell at the end, trying to see who finished in the least amount of time. However, students had to navigate an obstacle course along the way that tested how physically-fit and agile they were; swinging rings, low-hanging bars, even a wall climb. Five minutes was the par, meaning that a better time got a better grade, while taking any longer than that resulted in an automatic fail.

The name of the course was called "Sasuke," in honor of the Hokage's ancestor, and was somewhat of a re-enactment for the mission he went on. While Iruka was sparse on the details -it _was_ a classified mission after all- he did reveal that Sarutobi Sasuke had infiltrated an estate of roughly the same size within a good two and a half, maybe three minutes. For that reason, the obstacle course was large enough to simulate a small fortress, allowing unlimited opportunities for students to get creative, while also teaching them to think fast. To make things more interesting, teachers were put in there to role-play as guards, and so students were discouraged from using the same infiltration plan twice; mercifully enough, students were allowed to use animal companions if applicable.

So that progress was recorded, students were to wear an anklet with a special chakra marker that would register on sensors calibrated to detect movement in three perimeters around the bell. Once the student crossed a perimeter, the sensors would record the their time, and give them an extra thirty seconds to complete the run.

As the students ran through the fortress at varying times, Naruto studied their routes to see what worked, and what didn't. He also kept an eye on the movements of the teachers inside the fortress. Most of the civilian-born students didn't make it, taking way longer than five minutes; those that did barely made it past the four minutes, fifty seconds mark. The Shinobi-born children however, averaged out at about four minutes, two seconds using similar routes heading straight towards the bell, while the clan heirs and heiresses had more creative ways of finishing.

When it was Kiba and Ashi's turns to run the course, Naruto studied their paths. The former chose a more direct route, which involved knocking down any teacher that got in his way, while working fast on obstacles like the warped wall, eventually finishing at three minutes, thirty seconds. Ashi worked in tandem with her German Shepherds to make a path towards the goal, her canine companions diverting attention away from their mistress as she stole her way to the bell; she'd scored a time of three minutes, twenty-five seconds

Coincidentally enough, this was pretty much the relationship Naruto saw between the Uchiha Twins. While Sasuke favored the direct approach, Natsuki tended to use subtler methods by contrast; Sasuke mostly moving quickly, knocking out teachers, then disappearing back into the shadows, finishing at three minutes, twenty-five seconds. Natsuki on the other hand, simply dodged the guard detail without being seen in the first place, and finished at three minutes, twenty-five seconds, only milliseconds faster than her brother, but slower than Ashi.

Shikamaru and Shino were a lot smarter, simply choosing faster and easier routes that they'd learned over the year that totally bypassed the teachers…and not telling other students about it. Overall, they'd both made it at around three minutes, twenty-six seconds. Hinata did the same, only she'd used her Byakugan and her Jyuken to avoid getting stuck in one zone for too long, finishing at three minutes, twenty-six seconds. Meanwhile Ino used one of the teachers as a distraction to enable easy access the final bell, finishing at three minutes, twenty-seven seconds.

"Naruto! You're up!" Iruka called out.

As Naruto and Taeko stood at the arches he memorized the path they planned to take, a confident grin on their faces. When Iruka let out a clear 'hajime!' the boy and his Palico bolted into the arches, running through the maze at a breakneck pace. Experience taught them not to waste time fighting the teachers, so efforts were made to evade them. Whatever obstacle came their way, the two of them always had a way to avoid them: instead of using the monkey bars, Naruto hefted Taeko under his arm and crossed the moat by running along the walls over it. Whenever there was a horizontal bar, the two of them would vault over it, even scaling walls whenever they had the opportunity.

In the end, the two of them managed to get to the final obstacle: a tower with a buzzer at the top that would sound the bell and ended the race. Taeko climbed onto Naruto's back as he immediately grabbed onto the handholds, scaling the tower quickly before pressing the button.

"Three minutes, twenty-six seconds!" Iruka announced, checking through the list of students he had to test. He nodded in satisfaction before turning his attention back to the students. "All right then, everyone back to the arena. It's time for the sparring test, everyone to the arena!"

…

[Outside the obstacle course]

Mangetsu and Mikazuki stood against the fence, watching as the other students had their go of the Sasuke course. Everyone had unique ways of trying to finish the agility exam, particularly the shinobi children; however, the course had already winnowed more than half the student body. They were able to see their mentorship of Naruto bearing fruit; the lessons they drilled into him on how to escape had served him well in the obstacle course.

"What do you think, nii-chan?" asked Mikazuki, "You think it was worth investing our time in him too?"

Mangetsu nodded in assent. "If he's anything like his parents, then I doubt we'll be disappointed."

Her eyes were glued on the students in action. "Think we should tell him?"

"And what good would that do?" asked the elder Shizuoka, watching the physical exams progress, "As far as I can see, he's doing just fine not knowing. Besides, I don't feel like having words with the ANBU, not while Hiruzen begged the entire branch not to talk."

"I still feel like we should at least tell him," admitted Mikazuki, "Feels wrong that he has to go around without knowing."

"I'm feeling you, but there's really nothing we can do about it," Mangetsu groused, "Hiruzen was so adamant on Naruto growing up normally, that he went to kowtow before Pops; seriously, I've never seen anyone beg as much as he did that day. But in all honesty, as much as our favorite Hokage wants to deny it, I think we both know that a normal life was impossible the second the fox was sealed into him."

Mikazuki looked on as the students sat up at the bleachers. "Whether Hiruzen likes it or not, the truth _will_ eventually come out; when it does, I hope for his sake that it'll be on civil terms."

…

[The stands]

Students waited on the bleachers, watching as Mizuki stepped up to the podium. "Okay then, now that everyone's here, it's time to announce the match type for the finals," he announced, "And it will be a Skirmish match!"

The Skirmish match was a melee between two teams of six in an arena with obstacles in between. It was meant to simulate a drawn-out battle wherein both teams had run out of shuriken and kunai, with a situation that had devolved into hand-to-hand combat. The rules were simple; the team with the most surviving members in ten minutes won. Awareness of one's surroundings was key here, as participants had to avoid being flanked, and to watch out for opportunities to ambush their victims. Duelling right off the bat was simply asking for an instant loss, mainly because it was ill-advised to do so during a messy affair where teamwork and time management helped greatly. Because of this, fighting dirty was not only advised, but actually encouraged to help students assist each other whenever they were stuck on one opponent.

Naruto grinned confidently as he watched the students picked out for the first match trudging down the bleachers to put on protective gear. Summons, jutsu and Shinobi pets were not allowed, as the point of the match was to show how well the students could handle themselves in a desperate situation. On the other hand, they _were_ allowed to use a training dagger that had the weight and balance of a kunai, and left behind ink wounds.

Most of the fights were evenly-matched, with civilians and Shinobi fighting in teams against other students of their category; pure civilian teams would fight pure civilian teams, and vice-versa. Sometimes it would be an even mix of Shinobi and civilians in each team, other times it was lopsided in that Shinobi-only teams tended to crush the civilian ones, especially if a clan heir was in the mix. In any case, all the fighters started off at an even footing during the finals━after roughly a year, there were many opportunities for civilian-born children to outwit the Shinobi students; others had failed to learn from the mistakes of the year, and were defeated swiftly. Either way, it was a crucible to see who would survive the longest in a fight.

In one fight, Ino and Sakura were put on opposing teams, with Hinata on the latter's team and a girl named Ami in the former. Both teams were completely composed of girls, all of whom were considered the best in class. In the end, Ino would control Sakura's body and force her to surrender, only to wind up with Hinata simply pushing her body to the ground just as 'Sakura' surrendered.

Shino and Shikamaru's fight was more an upscaled game of Shogi than anything, with both of them giving the orders, maneuvering their teammates across obstacles and guiding the fight like pieces on a board. Eventually, the fight had come to the two of them, as their civilian teammates fought hard on their behalf, but were completely wiped out. What followed was a stare-down that Shikamaru immediately surrendered from.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, Inuzuka Ashi, Sendai Chiyoko, Iizuka Seibei, and Azai Nagisa, come on down to prepare," Mizuki called out, "Your opponents will be Akimichi Choji, Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Natsuki, Sanzaemon Daigō, Kagemine Rie, and Kumano Yoshitora."

Walking down the bleachers, Naruto caught a glimpse of his teammates joining him and the Inuzuka siblings in the academy. Chiyoko and Nagisa were civilian girls who joined both for the academic courses, and the opportunity to get closer to Sasuke. Their focus was split even more when he returned from his time with the Moon Siblings; something that Naruto noticed throughout the year, along with the occasional arguments between fangirls over whether he was sexier than Sasuke.

Seibei on the other hand, was one of the few Wyverians in class, being tall and slim for his age. While he was no slouch in the spars, he tended to do badly against Naruto; especially when it came to a knife fight. On the other hand, especially in regards to the wilderness survival courses, he had much better grades overall and was far more motivated in his studies.

"Oh, we've got this!" Kiba cheered, as he tightened the cuirass on his sister, "With the knife nut on our side, we're so gonna kill this match!"

Naruto glanced at Kiba as he slipped on the fingerless gloves and the bracers. "You guys aren't gonna let that slide, are ya?"

"Nope!" Ashi exclaimed, placing the helmet on her brother's head, "It was too awesome to even forget! I mean, that mugger was holding this teeny, tiny steak knife in his hand; you were all calm, and then you were like 'that's not a knife.' Then you pull out _your_ knife, and you were like ' _this_ is a knife!'"

"Yeah, well, it really wasn't much, dattebayo," Naruto replied, almost embarrassed as he followed his team to the middle of the arena with his training dagger on hand.

Before anyone else could say anything further on the matter, the two teams had met face-to-face in the arena. The entire enemy team, except Choji, brandished training daggers; Daigō and his lackey Yoshitora smiled in confidence as they looked at Naruto with death in their eyes. Rie looked tense, which differed from the confidence the Uchiha twins radiated. Overall, it looked as though the team composition was made _specifically_ to beat Naruto in a knife fight, and potentially curb stomp the rest of his team.

"You ready for this, onii-chan?" asked Natsuki, tossing her knife in the air before holding it in a saber grip.

Sasuke's answer was a terse 'hn' as he held his dagger in a reverse grip.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," Daigō said, sneering at Naruto. His lackey Yoshitora simply cackled ominously.

"Teams, to your starting positions!" Mizuki called out. Any and all banter had ceased, a terse air filling the arena as the teams silently began to pick out their targets. The first strike was very important here; the fewer teammates the other team had, the easier the match was. After a few seconds of observation, the two teams separated, heading to their respective starting positions.

Once the two teams were at the ready, Mizuki began the match with a loud "Hajime!"

The two teams split up, scattering among the obstacles trying to find a hiding place. Naruto ran amongst the debris sighting Yoshitora his first target pouncing and stabbing into his back four times for good measure. As he recovered from his ambush, Naruto blocked a knife strike from Daigō before slashing his opponent's throat, kneeing him in the gut, and throwing him to the ground.

Taking a moment's pause, he could hear Ashi and Kiba squaring off against the Uchiha twins nearby; he could hear them roaring in exertion. From his hiding spot, Naruto could see the Inuzuka siblings circling the twins on all fours, waiting for an opening to present itself. In turn, the twins were standing back to back, waiting for their opponents to make a mistake; one wrong move, and it was game over for both pairs of siblings.

"Watch out!" Naruto heard someone calling from behind.

He turned to see Daigō standing behind him, his knife coming down. Naruto deflected his opponent's wrist, and kicked the bully away. "The hell, man?" he shouted, taking his helmet off in favor of glaring angrily at the bully, "You're supposed to be playing dead!"

"Not until I take you down!" Daigō roared. He charged Naruto, fury in his eyes; in response, Naruto threw his helmet at the taller boy's head. The impact was enough to stagger Daigō mid-stride, giving Naruto enough time to tackle him and pin him against a large barrier. With his opponent unable to move, Naruto punched Daigō in the abdomen three times with each hand, followed by a knee to the side, and finishing his combo by bending the bully over and elbowing him in the back. Once he was certain that Daigō wasn't in any position to fight back, he grabbed the taller boy by the groin and the collar, and shifted his weight to stand below the bully. Many students watched in morbid fascination as Naruto hoisted Daigō overhead in full view of the class; and then cringed as he slammed his opponent's back over his knee, throwing the screaming bully's limp body onto the rubber shavings, leaving him writhing and mewling in pain.

"Broken, and done," Naruto said over Daigō's pain-filled groans, picking up both of their training knives, "You're only lucky I wasn't fighting you at full strength, or else you'd have been broken in two. Now why don't you stay down before you _really_ get hurt?"

Walking past his opponent, Naruto took note of the entire battlefield. Seibei was on the ground, stuck in an armlock with Choji, his legs pulling at the Akimichi heir's shoulder; the problem was that Seibei himself was also disqualified, as he had his back to the floor. Chiyoko was found with knife wounds on her body, while Nagisa had her back to the floor.

Hoping that he could have support, Naruto quickly found he Inuzuka siblings already playing dead, their corpses marked with a pair of blue x-shaped cuts across their chests, and several stab wounds for good measure. Even worse was that Rie and the Uchiha Twins were nowhere to be found.

"Now _that_ was brutal, " Natsuki said, tossing her knife in the air and catching it by the grip as she swaggered confidently into the clearing, "And yet, it felt so good that Daigō-baka was put in his place. Although I really don't envy you or oniichan…not when fangirls like Rie are around."

"Sorry about this, Naruto-kun," Rie added, a faux apologetic tone in her voice, "I'll admit, you look a lot better since you got back. But at the end of the day, Sasuke-kun will always be better than you!"

Sasuke stepped into the clearing, his own training knife held in a forward grip. Natsuki caught her knife in a reverse-grip, ready to support her brother. Rie simply stood there, waiting and watching. _I know I'm probably gonna lose either way,_ Naruto thought, _but I'll be damned if I don't at least put up a fight, dattebayo!_

Rie charged Naruto, wildly swinging her training dagger. Naruto threw one of his training daggers, quickly eliminating her before grabbing her by the cuirass. He used her body to block several of Sasuke's knife strikes and countered with a few thrusts.

"Mizuki-sensei! That's cheating!" shouted a fangirl.

"Yeah! Shields aren't even allowed! And he's using a person to do it!"

"In case you have forgotten, this is a Skirmish match," Mizuki reminded, "Unlike the other match types, fighting dirty is encouraged here. That means meat shields are allowed."

After using Rie's body to block a swing from Natsuki's knife strike, Naruto threw her at the younger Uchiha, giving himself enough time to pick up his own knife while rushing her. His training knives danced in the air as Natsuki avoided every slash, keeping just out of arm's reach before Naruto kicked her aside to evade a thrust from Sasuke's knife. Naruto changed grips on one of his knives, stabbing at Sasuke's neck.

"Time's up!" Mizuki called out. As he did, Naruto paused mid-stab, the tip of his knife centimeters away from Sasuke's neck; at the same time, Sasuke had an arm extended off to the side, in position for a takedown. Behind Naruto, Natsuki was about to wrap her arm around his neck, her own training knife ready to stab into his kidney…the problem was that her footing wasn't stable, so all three of them would have fallen over. By all accounts, if the match had gone on any longer, it would have ended in a mutual kill.

"And that concludes the sparring match," Mizuki announced, "Everyone, let's head back to the classroom, where we can get to our next examination."

…

[Outside the arena]

"Not bad," noted Mikazuki, "Looks like he's still got it."

"We really did him a favor there," Mangetsu agreed, "Fighting dirty really helps when dealing with enemies like the Shinobi. And it seems the Twins have themselves some proper competition because of it."

Mikazuki nodded. "True that. So what're we gonna do now?"

Mangetsu stood up from the fence, stretching his back. "I'm sure he's gonna be fine; he's probably got a good bit of extra credit to help him along."

"Let's cross our fingers then," added Mikazuki, "With any luck, he'll do well enough to pass. Fumi said herself that we did a good job teaching him the basics."

Upon hearing the name his sister mentioned, Mangetsu heaved a sigh. "How's she doing?"

"I don't think _anybody_ in the Lodge, much less the entire Guild, is gonna be okay with what that old bastard did," said Mikazuki, "I mean, Pops is still livid about Hiruzen not putting a tighter leash on him; no amount of money and apologies can make up for what that asshole did to our people. Least of all, to Fumi's groom-to-be."

Mangetsu nodded in assent; he wasn't exactly close to Genda, but he knew of the Wyverian Hunter. The man was deadly with a heavy bowgun, especially whenever he used the high-caliber ones that were specifically made for the Wyvern Snipe rounds; though he found that Wyvern Heart still had its uses. He was one of the Hunters that went missing on the shifty missions a few years after Minato's death. The Guild Knights had been investigating the matter thoroughly since the second time, but Genda's case was the fourth and last straw. Because of this, Pops had to suspend all missions and recall all Hunters until the Knights had finished their investigation, which had been escalating after every disappearance.

After a month or so of full-throttle investigation, unemployment, and an almost nightly string of bar fights between Shinobi and Hunters, evidence was found that incriminated Shimura Danzo. Mangetsu and Mikazuki were there, watching the Hokage withering under the Guild Master's glare as he recounted the disappearances, and the evidence the Knights had found. After that, Hiruzen admitted that while he didn't condone what his fellow elder had done, he couldn't do anything about him or his ROOT Division; citing the organization's long-term value as the only reason he'd keep it active. He _did_ however, offer up money from raids on ROOT financial holdings to reimburse the Guild for unpaid missions and loss of life, and his sincerest apologies for the whole fiasco.

Pops accepted the peace offering, but made it clear to the Hokage that he would have the Konoha Guild pack up and leave the Shinobi Nations should Danzo cause any more disappearances. What he _didn't_ tell Hiruzen was that he'd also take Naruto from Konoha, leaving the village open to Elder Dragon incursions, and setting a precedent for other Shinobi Nations Hunters to follow.

"That old bastard's only lucky he stopped there," Mangetsu mused, "Still, I have a feeling he's not been punished enough."

"Don't worry," Mikazuki assured her brother, "He'll get his bad karma one day. Though if you ask me, I don't think he had the balls to do this on Minato's watch."

Mangetsu nodded in agreement. "Me neither."

…

[Indoors, two hours later]

Naruto sat at his desk, waiting for the jutsu exam to begin.

The written survival exam was a no-brainer for him, as most of it was common sense he'd been taught by the Moon Siblings; the practical part was things that needed his knowledge of the outdoors. He'd done better in math due to its requirement for making pranks -and now traps- but it was still his weakest subject, while his literacy scores had a good improvement. And given the new material he'd had to study for, it was a surprise that he even managed to get good scores on both history and geography.

He'd just seen everyone else doing the three required jutsu, and felt a good amount of anxiety; with the exception of more than half the class, everyone had performed the Bunshin, Henge, and Kawarimi no Jutsu well enough to pass. Some did it with a more unique version than most; Shino, having performed the Bunshin and Kawarimi no Jutsu in one go, and the Inuzuka brother-sister duo performing the Kawarimi no jutsu on their dogs. The only ones who stood out were the Uchiha Twins, who'd both turned into a harem of six raven-haired, red-eyed women clad in white dresses; a stunt that satisfied both the Bunshin and Henge no Jutsu tests in one fell swoop. _I am not gonna be able to unsee that._

Naruto on the other hand, had a somewhat similar plan of attack. "Uzumaki Naruto, you're up!" Iruka called out.

"We ready, Taeko?"

"You got it meowster!" chirped the Palico.

Naruto and Taeko walked on down the steps to the podium, walking behind Iruka to put a chair behind him. He then walked in front of Iruka, leaving the teacher confused as to what was going on as Taeko climbed up his back to settle on his shoulders. Naruto said nothing, instead flying through hand seals before settling on one, engulfing both in a thick puff of smoke, along with Iruka. As the smoke cleared, Iruka was still standing at the podium, but in the duo's place was the chair that Naruto had put behind Iruka.

Hearing a low growl from behind, Iruka turned to see a large, well-muscled cat looking at him menacingly. Its golden fur was broken up with stark white stripes and contrasted with cerulean eyes and the deep blue jewel embedded in its forehead. It wore a primitive leather collar decorated with large claws. The two large fangs that protruded from its mouth and the long, leonine tail gave the cat a more primeval, but no less deadly appearance; like a prehistoric monster that came back from the grave.

Leaning against the prehistoric cat's shoulder was a tall, tanned, athletically-built blonde with a generous bust, white stripes painted all over her body, and whisker marks on her cheeks. She had a subtly curvy hourglass figure with just the right amount of thickness for surviving in the wilderness while still attracting potential suitors. Long, muscular limbs looked ready to propel her through the air should Iruka make any sudden movement, adding to her image as a deadly, beautiful, and voracious wildcat that would eat him if given the chance. She was dressed only in a leather bikini top with a necklace of claws, a leather loincloth, fur-lined boots, long hair was queued into a ponytail behind her head, and like her feline companion, she too had a jewel embedded in her forehead. Iruka immediately noted that her weapon was long spear with a large head that she straddled between her legs suggestively.

"Here, mousy, mousy, mousy…" she purred teasingly.

A river of blood flowed from Iruka's nose, his mind unable to decide if he was more scared or turned on by the savage woman and her gargantuan cat, before he snapped out his confusion to slap the woman from behind the head. In the same motion, he clenched his fist and punched the cat over the head. "GET SERIOUS, BOTH OF YOU!"

The cat and the woman disappeared in a puff of smoke, turning into Taeko and Naruto respectively. "That's not how you treat a lady, nya!" Taeko barked, massaging her head.

Iruka heaved a sigh. "That being said, you two satisfied both your Henge and Kawarimi no Jutsu tests. All Naruto needs to do now is to complete the Bunshin no Jutsu."

Naruto gulped. This was the jutsu he was weakest at; every time he tried to summon a clone, it always appeared sickly, and he had no idea why. He had an idea of what to do last night when studying for the test, but he didn't have the chance to try it out. After flying through the hand seals, he was engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke; as it cleared out, the classroom was filled with a team of four clones…none of which were fully-functional, much to Naruto's humiliation.

"Well, it was a nice try," said Iruka, a good amount of sympathy in his tone, "But you still failed."

"Why don't we give him another chance?" Mizuki asked, getting Naruto's hopes up, "I'm sure he can do better."

"You know full well how unfair it'd be if we did that," reminded Iruka, turning his attention to Naruto, "I will give you credit where it's due; throughout the year, you've improved both physically and a bit academically, but you will never be a Shinobi if you can't even make a working Bunshin. I'm sorry Naruto, while you've technically graduated as a civilian -maybe even a Hunter- I can't in good conscience pass you as a Shinobi."

Naruto sighed in disappointment. "Another year, another fail…" he muttered.

…

[Konoha Hunting Lodge, after class]

It was relatively calm in the Great Hall, helped along with the calming music played by the band of the month, which was fitting for the somber mood that Naruto was in; a tall mug of the local brewmaster's newest -and possibly strongest- concoction on the table in front of him. It complemented the tower of rare lamb racks that was placed on the table, the scent of rosemary and thyme mingling with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper. Off to the side, there was a basket of garlic bread, and two bowls of spiced meat juice that were for dipping the lamb.

Every juicy rib and piece of garlic bread was shared between master and Palico; Taeko would get her share, and so would he. Time spent under the Moon Siblings' instruction, and the changes to his diet had worked wonders for his metabolism. Because of this, what he once would have considered a heavy meal, he now considered a light snack.

There was no doubt in his mind that Pops would've heard the results of the exam; Hunters talked after all. The old Guild Master said nothing about the test, instead allowing the small consolation feast to be on the house; for which, Naruto was thankful. Both for the fact that he didn't feel like discussing his failure at the moment, and because it cost a lot of money to get things like rosemary, garlic, and thyme straight from the Old World.

After slicing off a rib, Naruto tried to savor the taste of the meat and herbs, but the scene he'd witnessed after class ruined the flavor for him. Children running to their parents, satisfied in their victory after having earned their hitai-ate━a sight that filled his heart with a mixture of feelings. Warmth for the fact that those kids had families waiting for him at home, and pain and envy as he remembered he had nobody waiting for him at his apartment. Even Hinata had a family to go back to; her father didn't seem to like her much, but at least she still had a family that loved her in their own way. _Still, I suppose the Lodge_ is _home in a sense,_ he thought to himself.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" Mizuki asked, taking a seat next to Naruto as he washed down the lamb with a swig of his drink.

"Yeah, well that's what the lamb's for," Naruto answered, dipping his next rib into the sauce, "So what brings you here, Mizuki-sensei?"

"I just wanted to tell you that Iruka really does care for you," Mizuki replied as the student took a bite out of the rib, "It's just that he's got to be fair on all the students."

"You don't have to tell me that," added Naruto, shivering slightly from a swig of his brew, "The Moon Siblings were hard on me when I was with them, so I know that last screw-up was my bad."

"Well, why become a Shinobi in the first place?" queried Mizuki, tearing a bit into the garlic bread, "You already seem to have a future with the Guild. In fact, I'm pretty sure if you apply yourself, you could even be eligible to go to the New World."

"I'll be honest, the idea of going out to hunt in either continent does sound appealing," Naruto admitted, handing a rib to Taeko, "And the Guild's doors are always open to me, so I have a home either way. But for some reason, I feel like I could do more as a Shinobi; like I could make things better for both the Hunters _and_ the Shinobi if I became Hokage."

Mizuki grinned, moving closer to Naruto's ear as the boy bit into another rib, his voice a whisper. "Well what if I were to tell you there's another way to graduate?"

As he heard this, Naruto choked on a piece of lamb, Taeko patting her master on the back. "That sounds too good to be true, nya," she noted, speaking in Naruto's place.

"I have an extra-credit assignment for you," the teacher explained, his voice still low, "Go to the Hokage's office, and steal a certain scroll. Do this, and Iruka will pass you."

"That's it?" Naruto asked, patting his chest clear, "Isn't there anything else?"

"Smart boy," said Mizuki simply, "No, that's it, just get the scroll and you're done. But if you want bonus points on top of that, then you can approach this assignment the way you would a hunt."

It was a strange request to be sure, but not unheard of for clients to make. Once in a while, Naruto had heard of some sadistic client that asked the Guild to capture two of a monster that Hunters called the "Big Angry Pickle" alive. The catch was that they'd only get paid if they did it without armor; just their weapon, the tools they'd need to capture it alive, and the clothes on their back.

"Sounds easy enough, meowster," Taeko noted, biting into her lamb, "But it's all up to mew."

The idea that he could graduate this easily seemed too good to be true; and yet, Naruto had a bad feeling about it. Still, opportunities like these didn't come by every day. "When and where do you want me to take it?"

…

[Konoha Central Park]

Iruka sped through the trees, hoping to be the first to find Naruto before any of the other Shinobi did. If that happened, then it was very likely they'd murder the poor boy for the theft of the Forbidden Scroll. Luckily, most of the Konoha Hunters had Naruto's back and had volunteered to find him as well.

According to the Hokage, he'd found the boy dressed in an armor made of Seregios scales, and was carrying a large weapon on the small of his back; basically, he looked like he was ready to go on a hunt. Before he stole the scroll, Naruto and his Palico had used that perverted jutsu of his to distract the old man before running away. Iruka would've been furious at the theft, but found himself applauding Naruto's daring, and the fact that he managed to get away with it.

All things considered, it made sense that Naruto would choose to hide in the Central Park if he approached this like a Hunter. Along with Training Grounds 44 and Zero, it was among the only places in Konoha that were still wild and green, the only difference being that the Central Park was intended for relaxation purposes. The fact that those traps were intended for large animals meant that they needed thick vegetation and a lot of room to take full advantage of; that, and Naruto may have adjusted some of those traps for human-sized targets. And on top of that, the boy was already a very competent trap-master even before he was sent to the Hunters, which meant that he may have picked up a new trick or two.

"Hold it right there, Iruka-kun," shouted a voice from below. Iruka looked down, and saw Mikazuki staring up at him, with an aerosol can in her hand. She had her trademark bone cleavers holstered at the small of her back, and a Slinger on her left forearm.

"Spray the path in front of you before going any further," she advised, tossing the can at him.

Iruka caught the can, and found that it was a silly string spray. Wondering if there was a reason for her advice, he sprayed the area immediately in front of him and watched the foamy strands drift downwards before coming to a stop in midair. He then noted the subtle glint of fine lines shining in the moonlight, attached to a heavy net of vines overhead. "Tripwires, impressive."

"Oniichan is up ahead," added Mikazuki, leaping onto Iruka's branch, "Which means we're the first to figure out where Naruto is. If you're going in there, then you'd better take me with you."

Weighing in his options, Iruka found he had none. Between the Moon Siblings, Mikazuki was the trap mistress, so she would know how to navigate Naruto's traps. _Besides, she_ taught _him how to make them better,_ he thought wryly. "Lead the way."

"Gladly." Without preamble, Mikazuki drew her knife, and cut the tripwire, letting the net fall upon the branch. She then regarded Iruka with a serious expression. "Let's go, I'll bet Naruto already knows we're coming."

"Ladies first," Iruka said dryly.

The two of them traversed the wooded area with Mikazuki up front, spotting traps and disarming them while Iruka brought up the rear. Her knife worked wonders in clearing out a shortcut to Naruto, as though the tripwires were vines that were in their way. Quite a few times, they'd passed by some hastily-built, yet effective traps…none of which were lethal, but they were effective nonetheless. The fact that Iruka was unable to catch them at first was a testament to how much Naruto had improved in the year and a half he was away from school, and it terrified him as to how much scarier his pranks could be.

"So, wanna talk about it?" asked Mikazuki, ducking under a branch.

"About what?" Iruka asked back.

"About that test Naruto failed," she answered, slicing through another wire. A pie flew across their vision in response.

"There's not much to talk about," the teacher answered, "He failed a very important test, and I refused him the headband as a result."

"And yet, you let that Rock Lee girl pass," countered the Huntress, "Even though she failed all those tests herself."

"That was different," Iruka bit back, "Ryoko had a mentor that decided to take her in after that last failure. Naruto has nobody to do that for him."

"Well, and here I thought you'd be more understanding of him," Mikazuki snarked.

"What do you mean?"

At this, Mikazuki paused to regard Iruka with a somewhat disappointed expression. "Do you think we've forgotten how you were like when you'd lost your parents? All those prankings, all those thefts of our food? Mangetsu and I didn't let you do them because we didn't know what you were up to; it's because we understood you were just acting out for attention, that you wanted some way to alleviate the pain. That, and it kept us from going on a drinking binge that would've put Tsunade to shame. Anyway, we were understanding when you came into our lives the way you did; why couldn't you do the same for Naruto?"

Iruka took a moment to ponder her words, wondering if he could've been a better teacher to Naruto. "I…"

"Save it," Mikazuki interrupted, turning her attention back to the forest, "Let's just get Naruto back before some asshole decides to kill him."

The two of them continued deep into the forest silently, keeping their eyes peeled for any more of Naruto's traps. Eventually, they both found the boy and his Palico in a clearing, a huge scroll nearby as they were propped up against a tree.

Naruto wore what amounted to a long-tailed vest made with razor-sharp red and brass scales stitched onto it; there was no seam in the front, just a reinforced breastplate made of more scales, strong silk, and a stiff, but flexible panel that was buckled to the back plate at the sides. The shoulders were protected with scales riveted onto a stiff panel hanging from the vest, revealing an undershirt made of a strong cloth. He wore a claw-tipped gauntlet that covered his fingers on his right arm, and a Slinger on the other. His legs were protected with a pair of hakama with scales on the thighs that were tied up at the knees, and a pair of calf-length scaled boots terminated with two talons on the outsole. Framing his face was a happuri made of segmented bronze plates, with a pair of curved blades sticking out from the forehead over his eyes like horns, and a 'beard' of red plates protecting his neck. Overall, Naruto looked like a daishōgun from the Bronze Age.

At the small of his back was a truly massive weapon. It had two large blades mounted on a slender shaft with a groove cut along its length; one was a bone axe blade retracted at the hilt, the other was a large steel sword blade folded over at the tip in a hinge. The hands were protected with a large guard, with a sort of trigger mechanism close to the 'blade'. What drew Iruka's attention however, was the small, fluid-filled cylinder secured at the opposite side of the axe. Whatever it was, it was one of those complicated melee weapons that some Hunters enjoyed using.

A cursory glance at Naruto's body and armor showed that there were scorch marks from chakra usage; as though he'd been experimenting with a jutsu multiple times with no success. _Has he been practicing since he got here?_ Iruka thought.

Naruto and Taeko's eyes cracked open, immediately noticing the Hunter-Shinobi duo in the clearing through his weariness. "About time you got here, Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, almost confused about whole the situation, "But I didn't think that Mikazuki-sensei was coming too."

Iruka and Mikazuki quirked an eyebrow at that; however, it was the Huntress that voiced the question they wanted to ask. "You were waiting for us?"

"Yeah," Naruto chirped, standing up as he did, "And now that Iruka-sensei's here, I can show you guys what I learned! I'll pass for sure this time!"

"What makes you think I'm going to pass you?" Iruka asked in confusion.

Naruto's face fell upon hearing that. "What're you talking about, nya?" asked Taeko, "Isn't this supposed to be a makeup exam?"

"There's no such thing," Iruka explained, "If there were, I'd have known about it beforehand."

Naruto was gobsmacked at the revelation. "The hell? Mizuki-sensei said that you'd pass me after I took this scroll!"

Mikazuki looked at Naruto with shock. "Wait a minute, _Mizuki_ told you to do this!?"

"Yeah, told me that if I took the scroll and met him here, I'd pass," Naruto explained, "He also said that I'd get bonus points for prepping like I would a Hunt…figured I'd pass the time by setting up traps and reading the scroll so I could really impress Iruka-sensei."

Iruka paused in thought; if Mizuki had told Naruto to wait here, then that meant…

"Duck!" Mikazuki barked, knocking Iruka off his feet as something wizzed over their bodies while Naruto and Taeko rolled aside. As the two of them recovered from the near miss, Iruka glanced to the side, and found both the boy and his Palico were safe.

"Not bad for a little brute," mocked a voice from above, "And here I thought it'd be an easy job; kill the runt, and frame the goody-two-shoes for both theft and murder. And it looks like I've also got an opportunity to slap rape on as well."

Mizuki stood on a branch high above the gathering, a wicked sneer on his face as looked down upon them. He had two more oversized shuriken strapped to his back, equally balanced for both close-quarters fighting and throwing.

Mikazuki stood up, rage in her eyes as she glared at the teacher that looked down upon them. "Before today, I just plain didn't like you," she groused, reaching for her cleavers, "Now I have a legit reason to hate you."

"Huh? What'd you say?" Mizuki asked mockingly, moving his ear closer, "I never can understand what gluttonous, meat-headed bitches say!"

"How could you do this?!" Iruka shouted.

"Oh, it was easy," answered the teacher, "Just a stab and a twist; would've been easier if the brat and his mangy fleabag hadn't set up so many damn traps!"

"Well who the hell told us to approach this like a hunt, nya?!" Taeko fired back.

"What the hell's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Mizuki lied to you," explained Iruka, "There never was a makeup exam. He just used you to steal the scroll and pin the blame on you."

"Well that's precious, coming from an entire village of liars and hypocrites," Mizuki fired back, a wicked glint in his eyes as an idea formed in his head, "Speaking of which…Naruto, you wanna know why you're so hated in the village?"

"The hell are you talking about?!" Naruto asked, reaching for the grip of his weapon.

"Mizuki, don't you dare! It's forbidden!" Iruka screamed.

"That the Kyūbi no Yokō was never killed," Mizuki continued, his words dripping with sadistic glee, "The only way they could've beaten it was to seal it awa-!"

Whatever else Mizuki had to say was cut off as a rock knocked him off the branch, sending him plummeting to the ground. As he broke his fall and landed, Mizuki was caught off-guard by a massive rock that was coming towards his face. Mizuki barely had enough time to dodge the hammer head when it came in contact with his chest, sending him flying into a tree.

"You talk too much, asshole," came the voice of Mangetsu, shouldering his hammer as he stood in full view of the traitor. He too wore a Slinger on his left arm.

Mizuki propped himself back up, having a good look at his assailant. "Well, well, ain't this a powerful duo? The Moon Siblings; neither hunter, nor shinobi…and with blood from two different villages too."

The jab did nothing to Mangetsu; he simply shrugged. "What can I say? Our mom really liked her meat dark."

"You'll pay for this, all of you!" Mizuki snarled, reaching into his pocket, "And when I'm done with you, I'll do the village a favor and set the Hunting Lodge on fire!"

"And what makes you think we'll let you do that?" Mikazuki asked, unsheathing her cleavers. At the same time, Naruto unbuckled his weapon with a heavy jerk on the grip, the axe blade slid along the rail to the tip and locking in place with the 'knife', ready to hack enemies apart. Taeko unbuckled her small hammer, her blue-green eyes smouldering with rage.

Mizuki pulled an autoinjector from his pocket, and immediately jabbed it into his thigh. "Because it takes a monster to fight monsters!"

The traitor clutched at his sides, hunching forward and screaming in pain as his body convulsed. The skin of his back turned orange before gaining black stripes, and his muscles enlarged into heavy masses of meat. His fingers were tipped in claws, and his ears sharpened into points that streaked behind his head. In Mizuki's place was a hulking monster half-man, half-tiger, snarling at the Hunters and Shinobi.

Mangetsu scoffed, not at all impressed at the sight of Mizuki's transformation. "So you turned yourself into a monster. Big deal, I hunt monsters for a living! And being a Guild Knight, I've had to hunt human-sized targets too, so you're nothing special."

Every shinobi in the area looked at Mangetsu with surprise; it wasn't every day that anyone acknowledged that they were Guild Knights. From what Iruka understood, the Knights were the enforcers of the Guild, whose primary responsibility was to track down and kill poachers. In terms of skill, they were roughly equal to an ANBU operative, only they tended to bring heavier weapons to the fight. Because they were mainly sent to investigate allegations of poaching, the Guild Knights did their best to not reveal their identity.

"He's not the only one that's been knighted by the Guild," added Mikazuki, stepping up to join her brother, "Time to make a pelt out of you."

"No!" Naruto called out, voice dripping with rage as he tightened the grip on his axe, "He's mine, dattebayo!"

Iruka reached out to Naruto's chest, preventing him from moving forward. "No, you have to protect the scroll; make sure Mizuki doesn't get his hands on it!"

"Nuh-uh!" Naruto shot back, brushing aside the teacher's arm, "That asshole used me, so that makes it my fight, dattebayo!"

"Then I'm joining in, nya!" Taeko agreed, lightly tapping the haft of her hammer on her free hand, "Nobody lies to my meowster and gets away with it!"

"Well what are you two waiting for?!" shouted Mizuki, wielding both of his oversized shuriken by the holes like giant, bladed knuckle-dusters, "Time to kill!"

Naruto began the fight by charging Mizuki with his axe in hand. He ducked under an overhead swing to ram the blunt tip of his mechanical axe into the tiger-man's abdomen, lightly knocking the former teacher back from the impact. Not wasting the opening he was given, Naruto recovered from pushing back the mutant to bring the axe blade down on Mizuki's shoulder; unfortunately, Mizuki managed to recover quickly enough to catch the axe by the haft with one hand, stopping the downward momentum of the blade just halfway towards the junction between the neck and shoulder.

"So this is the famous 'switch axe' I've heard so much about," he said with a sneer, keeping the axe blade from cutting into his jugular vein, "I'm not impressed."

…

(Iruka)

Watching as his student was stuck in a deadlock with the mutant, Iruka silently readied a kunai from his holster, waiting for an opportunity to break up the fight between Naruto and Mizuki. He needed to be quick, before Naruto got himself killed. As he took a step towards the fight, Iruka was pulled in by the shoulder; the massive hand he saw made it clear that he was stopped by Mangetsu.

"What're you doing?" he asked, "He's going to get slaughtered!"

"You think you're the only one that wants to help?" asked the elder Moon Sibling, pinning Iruka in place with a serious expression, "I want to wring that bastard's neck myself for what he did."

"Then why?"

"He got into this mess hoping to impress us," answered Mikazuki, still watching the fight, "Now we're going to see the fruits of our training firsthand."

…

(Naruto)

Before Mizuki could swipe at Naruto with his free hand, Taeko swung her hammer into the back of his knee, releasing his grip on the axe. As the traitor was forced onto one knee, Naruto cut into his chest in one swing; the axe blade itself wasn't sharp, but it had thousands of tiny serrations along its edge to compensate. As he recovered from the last slash, he ripped another gash across Mizuki's chest, swinging the switch axe in a figure-eight motion; every pass ripped a shallow, cross-shaped wound into pectoral muscles while pushing back the tiger-man. Mizuki leaped back, taking a moment to snarl at Naruto before throwing a shuriken at him, forcing the boy to roll aside. Taking advantage of Naruto getting back up, Mizuki pounced on the academy student, intent on slashing him in half with his remaining shuriken.

As the blades of the shuriken neared Naruto's neck, a wedge-shaped piece of wood batted away Mizuki's wrist, knocking away the shuriken before returning to Taeko's waiting paw. The momentary distraction was the opening Naruto needed to tackle Mizuki in the abdominals, before dragging another cut across his opponent's torso, eliciting a roar of pain. With the press of a trigger, the axe blade retracted while the oversized knife flipped over the hinge and locked in place on top of the axe, becoming a massive sword. Both the bone and steel blades took on a reddish hot glow before Naruto swung the blade upward, taking off Mizuki's tail in one superheated cut before bringing it back down on the mutant.

Mizuki leaped away from the slash, only to sidestep a thrust that missed his torso by a few centimeters. Naruto followed with a quick horizontal slash, forcing Mizuki to take another leap back, only to trip a wire that sent a volley of small rocks flying his way, one of which struck him in the eye. The trap had given Naruto an opening to thrust his blade at Mizuki's abdomen, only for the tiger man to slip left, causing him to impale the tree behind him instead. Fortunately, the blade was hot enough that it burned a hole into the tree trunk, allowing him to pull the blade out with ease; unfortunately, the delay was enough for Mizuki to kick Naruto away.

Savoring his momentary victory, Mizuki watched as Naruto rolled onto his back, sitting back up to glare defiantly at him, the grip on his switch axe still secure. In response, Mizuki crouched on all fours before pounding on Naruto, claws at the ready, watching as he rolled aside at the last minute. By the time Mizuki tried to redirect his trajectory, it was too late; he made contact with the ground, he felt a slight resistance before a small machine nearby detonated, sending him into the wall of a pitfall trap. As he dug his claws into the walls to stop himself from falling any further, Mizuki found that the dirt walls were too loose to do anything but slow his descent.

Mizuki hit the ground with a dull thud before hazarding a glance upward, eyeballing the pit to be a good ten meters deep. He saw Naruto standing the rim, dipping a large mug into a huge wooden barrel next to him, the grip of his retracted axe tucked under his left arm, and a small jar loaded in his Slinger. The boy nonchalantly gulped down a mouthful of the liquid before looking down on him with contempt in his eyes, while his Palico stood next to him equally as furious.

"Y'know, you really should have learned to live a little, dattebayo," he said in a strangely calm voice, as he wiped his mouth on his forearm, "If you did, then you'd appreciate all the simpler things in life; good food, good drink, good friends, even a good time. Instead, all you care about is whose life you're gonna poison next."

"And what would you know of poison?" Mizuki shot back, "I mean, don't you even want to know what the truth is?"

"I don't know what your truth is, and I don't give a damn," Naruto drawled, taking another swig from his mug before pouring the remains of his drink into the pit and onto Mizuki's head, "What I do know is that you'd kill people I care about just to hurt me, and that's something I won't have, dattebayo."

Naruto kicked the barrel into the pit, watching as it shattered upon impact, its contents splashing all over the bottom while drenching Mizuki with it. The wooden fragments flew everywhere, many bouncing off Mizuki's body, while some splinters had found their way into his wounds. Satisfied that his opponent wasn't going anywhere, Naruto put down the mug to fire the jar into the bottom of the pit, setting the alcohol on fire. Mizuki screamed in pain as the fire licked at his wounds, burning at the alcohol sprinkled on his body.

After a few minutes of silence, Naruto and Taeko readied their weapons as an orange and black blur leaped out of the pitfall trap before rolling on the ground to put out flames. The two of them saw Mizuki standing back up, much of his body covered in scorch marks, his deep abrasion wounds burned and cauterized, and his face twisted into a bestial snarl.

"Was that your best?" Mizuki challenged, "Why don't you show me what you're really capable of, you little brute?"

"You asked for it," Naruto shot back, holding his axe under his arm, his fore and index fingers crossing. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The Hunter vanished in a puff of smoke that engulfed the entire area, obscuring Mizuki's vision; as the haze cleared out, the tiger-man quickly found himself surrounded on all sides by an army of Naruto clones, each one brandishing a switch axe. It was hard for his senses to determine which was real and which was a bunshin, because he could pick up Naruto's scent everywhere. For the first time in the fight, Mizuki was truly terrified.

"If you're not coming to us," began one Bunshin, hefting his axe overhead.

"Then we're coming to you," finished another.

Mizuki was frozen in place as the army of axe-wielding boys came charging at him, rage in their eyes. After avoiding one swing, Mizuki countered with a backhand to dissipate one Bunshin in one hit, only to watch as an axe blade tore into his forearm, rending a shallow cut into it. In response, Mizuki swiped at another four Bunshin with his claws, only to be hit from behind the knees, and pulled back by the shoulders and elbows with bone axe beards.

The finishing blow came when a Bunshin with his switch axe in sword mode vaulted over his colleagues, plunging the tip of his blade into Mizuki's abdominal wound. After impaling the mutated teacher, Naruto planted his feet to lift him off the ground with one hand; a subtle mechanical whine mixed in with pneumatic hissing. As his grip on the trigger tightened, the blades radiated a red glow that brightened. After five seconds, an explosion rang out, the recoil throwing Mizuki's body off the blade while extricating the switch axe from his wound.

…

(Iruka)

There was nothing to describe what he'd just seen.

Throughout the year, Iruka had seen that Naruto's fundamental skills had improved thanks to the Moon Siblings' training, but he never thought that it was to this degree. It was one thing being able to take on a chūnin with Hunter weapons and a good number of traps; to do so even before resorting to a jutsu from the Forbidden Scroll was another matter entirely. With Kage Bunshin no Jutsu now in his arsenal, and his abnormally large chakra reserves, Naruto had passed the Bunshin exam flawlessly, while also turning him into a potential one-man Hunting Party.

"What was Mizuki-teme talking about?" Naruto asked, all the Bunshin dispersing in a puff of smoke.

"What do you mean?" asked the teacher.

"That the Kyūbi was sealed away," Naruto answered, "If the Yondaime Hokage couldn't kill it, then where did he seal it away?"

Iruka widened his eyes at the suddenness of Naruto's question. Thoughts ran through his head on how to approach the situation. "He sealed it into…" began Mikazuki.

"Don't━!"

"Oh give it a rest, Iruka!" barked Mangetsu, glaring down at the teacher, "We all knew that keeping the truth hidden from him was pointless from day one. Besides, with all that's happened tonight, would you rather have let _Mizuki_ tell him the truth? Better he hears it from the people that care about him, than to have let that asshole twist the truth just to hurt him."

Whatever rebuke Iruka had on his mind was immediately shot down; there was nothing he could say to at least back up his words. _That, and both of them could easily snap me like a twig,_ he thought wryly, shivering in horror at the idea.

"So who did he seal it into?" Naruto asked.

"Into you," answered the younger Shizuoka, "And believe me, it was the very _last_ thing he wanted to do."

Thoughts ran through Iruka's head as he wondered how the boy would take the revelation of the fox's true fate as Naruto just stood there for a few seconds before sighing. "So what happens now?"

Iruka was gobsmacked at Naruto's casual tone, until he mentally slapped himself. Normally, after being told such a truth, most children would run away, denying what they'd just heard along the way. But Naruto wasn't most children, not when he'd been spending a little over half a year surviving in the wilderness.

"That part's all up to you now," explained Mangetsu, "Who you want to tell this truth to is your responsibility. However, whether you choose to be a Shinobi or a Hunter, the Konoha Guild's got your back."

"Thanks, I guess," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head in thought, "Still, a lot to take in one night, 'ttebayo."

Something stirred in Iruka's heart. "Well why don't I give you some good news for once?"

"Good news?" asked Taeko.

Iruka grinned warmly. "Why don't you both close your eyes?"

…

[Hi no Kuni Wilderness]

"…and when we opened our eyes, Iruka-sensei had wrapped his hitai-ate around my neck," whispered the Hunter after checking on the trap.

"So how'd you celebrate?" asked the black-haired mouse girl.

"Nothing special, we just went to the Lodge for a slice of death log and tea," the Hokage answered simply, watching in amusement as the childrens' jaws dropped; neither of them matched how quickly the meganekko paled at the revelation.

"Are you kidding me, dattebasa?" croaked the outraged younger blond, "Mom wouldn't even let me have a black forest birthday cake at three layers!"

The Hokage chuckled, half in amusement. "Because you can't handle it yet; besides, the layers on _your_ birthday cake were thinner than what a Hunter would eat."

The "black forest cake" was a dessert item that Guild chefs and bakers brought with them from the Old World. It was often made with no less than two layers of chocolate sponge cake with a filling of cherries and cream in between, and was always topped with cherries as per tradition. While it was more child-friendly without it, some bakers maintained that it just wasn't the same without adding a spirit called "kirsch" to the mix.

The "death log" on the other hand, was a black forest cake that pulled out all the stops at five thick layers. In addition, it was often made with a stronger liquor than kirsch, and large chocolate flakes added to the rim made to resemble bark. It was so named because a diabetes-induced heart attack was very likely for a non-Hunter from just one thick slice; due to its extremely high sugar content, it was banned from non-Hunter menus, and was a favored last meal for anyone looking to commit suicide.

"C'mon, Himawari and I can handle it!" pleaded the younger blond, turning to face the mouse-girl, "Can't we?"

"And let you two run around the apartment all night long?" asked the Hokage, aghast at the younger blond, "No way, dattebayo!"

"You have any other stories to tell us?" asked the meganekko, changing the direction of the conversation.

Whatever the Hokage had to say was interrupted when he turned his attention to the side. Before any of the kids in his hunting team could say a word, he raised a hand for silence while turning his ear to the source of the noise. "Let's save it for another day," he finally said, reaching for the sword in his shield, "We've got some prey to hunt…"

 _ **…**_

 _ **A/N: The chapter ends…fairly canon, except for how Mizuki dies. And I don't care what people think; the LS may be the most popular weapon in the current meta, but I think the SA is one of the best weapons in the Monster Hunter universe. And while smaller, lighter weapons like the DB, IG, and SnS are more practical for a Shinobi, I doubt you can go wrong with a well-timed Zero Sum Elemental Discharge.**_

 _ **Anyway, while this chapter is fairly canon, there will be a divergence; namely in where we're going for everything…but don't worry, we'll still deal with the Nami no Kuni arc. Who knows? We may even run into a Turf War in Takigakure. So tell me what monster you want Naruto to fight and where; and for that matter, tell me what weapon you want to see him using next.**_

 _ **As usual, props to NorthSouthGorem for beta-ing this chapter. Give him your applause, and attention for his works.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Rock sling vs house-man—this is literally David vs. Goliath**_

 _ **Skirmish match—pretty much part of the USMC hand-to-hand training course, as well as the part from AssClass where the students 'kill' each other with rubber knives.**_

 _ **Broken, and done—Bane says this to Batman after breaking his back in "Knightfall".**_

 _ **Naruto's Henge test—Those of you who follow League of Legends should have a pretty good idea who is being described.**_


	6. Bravery

_**A/N: Here's a new chapter for you all; and on Christmas Eve too.**_

 _ **I'll get this to the First Mission before I go to any other stories. But all in all, there will be a different teamwork exercise than before.**_

 _ **Read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Streets of Konoha, afternoon]

Naruto had struck a major item off his to-do list before going back to class for the team placements, carrying a scroll with him back from his apartment. Depending on how long he had to wait, he had an opportunity to finally make sure his tools were ready for the jobs ahead and that he had plenty of ammo ready. Luckily, he already had a whetstone and a leather strop stored in the tool scroll, all he needed was some water handy, and both his ammo scrolls had plenty of materials.

"Meowster?" called Taeko, looking off to the side.

Naruto huffed in exasperation, seeing a dark gray cube over by the porch in plain view, positioned near the trash cans. _You've_ got _to be kidding me,_ he thought.

Earlier, he'd taken his dossier photo, and registered himself as a shinobi, and Taeko as his partner, visiting the Hokage shortly after. The old man had praised him on his progress, while also apologizing to him for the secrecy regarding the Kyūbi being sealed into him. All that had come to a halt when a younger boy ran into the office, trying to kill the elder with a wooden kunai; only to trip and fall on his overly long scarf.

After a bit of an argument that led to Naruto holding the boy by the collar of his shirt, his teacher ran in, revealing him to be the Hokage's grandson. A closer look at the boy's features allowed Naruto to see that it was indeed true; he even had a subtle hint of the Hokage's tobacco scent on him. The smug little boy mouthed off to Naruto that he wouldn't hit him on account of his grandpa. He didn't punch the brat, but he did walk out to the balcony and tossed the boy high up into the air before catching him nearly two minutes later.

Not long after he left the Hokage Tower, Naruto noted that he'd been followed. It wasn't hard, his disguises were anything but subtle; sometimes he'd be caught hiding at the last minute, and Naruto's sense of smell was at least on par with an Inuzuka's if he focused on it. He'd been taking winding paths home hoping to lose him in crowds, and every time he turned to see if he was being followed, he'd see a patch of fencing that was off, or a very angular trash can. He'd lost the little boy walking through the Konoha Farmer's Market about ten minutes ago…which was the longest he'd gone without seeing him.

"Well, gotta give him props for not giving up, dattebayo" Naruto sighed.

"You're not actually thinking of _talking_ to him, nya?" asked Taeko.

"Either way, we need to get this over with," he said, walking towards the cube, "Okay, you followed me this far. What do you want?"

The cube flinched, before trembling in place as Naruto tapped it with the toe of his sandal. "C'mon, you're already found out. Might as well show yourself, dattebayo."

The cube crumpled away, revealing a little boy in a yellow shirt, his brown hair done up in a small ponytail that poked through a dull gray headgear behind his head. He wore an overly-long blue scarf around his neck, and stood roughly around Taeko's height. There was a smug grin on his face as he looked up at Naruto. "I knew you were a worthy opponent from the day I saw you."

"Well, you weren't exactly hard to find," Naruto answered back, "There's no such thing as a cube-shaped garbage bag, and you keep trying to disappear at the last minute. Besides, I smelled you since we left the tower; though to be fair, I didn't think anybody would be brave enough to hide next to the trash cans, much less follow me this far to my apartment. So what do you want?"

"I want you to train me," answered the boy simply.

Naruto stared at the boy curiously. "I've still got a lot to learn myself, so why ask me?"

"You're the strongest person I know," explained the 'Honorable Grandson,' "And I saw on your file that you've got a Hunting License, which makes you even cooler than my Sensei."

"You like Hunters?" asked Naruto.

"Why wouldn't anyone like the Hunters?" the boy asked back, genuinely excited by the prospect, "I mean, you guys are strong and tough enough take on really dangerous monsters every day, and live to tell about it! In fact, Grandpa's got a few friends in the Guild."

"Well, it's not always about the hunts, dattebayo," Naruto answered, almost embarrassed, "Sometimes we get called on to get things straight from the wilderness because it's too dangerous for Shinobi to go in there. Anyway, I've still gotta go meet my team."

"Can't you show me anything that'll make me stronger?"

Naruto thought for a moment, wondering what he could do to get the younger boy off his back for the moment. "You got a name?" he finally asked.

"It's Konohamaru," answered the younger boy, "Like the village."

Naruto nodded in approval. "Okay Konohamaru, I can't show you anything right now because I'm late for team placements. But I do have a project for you."

The younger boy perked up enthusiastically. "What is it?"

"I want you to cook something for your family," answered Naruto, amused as Konohamaru face-faulted, "It can't be anything easy like a sandwich, or instant ramen; I want you to actually look through a cookbook to find the hardest recipe you can do, and put your back into trying to cook it."

"This is mom stuff!" Konohamaru whined, "Can't you show me anything cool?"

"Don't knock off cooking, it's a lot cooler than you think," Naruto chided, "Besides making you more useful and popular when you're not fighting, trap-making is cooking in a way; you just need the right ingredients, and to know what you're doing."

Konohamaru looked at Naruto with a good amount of fascination. "Really?"

"Nya, in fact it's because he had to learn to cook that he could make a paint bomb few weeks ago," said Taeko, "That shopkeeper didn't see us coming."

"That was you?" asked the Hokage's grandson, astonishment on his features.

"And proud of it, dattebayo," agreed Naruto, "That guy was being mean when all I wanted was a spool of twine. Anyway, this is a challenge for you; it's a skill that, if nothing else, makes getting lost in the wilderness a little more bearable. Give me leftovers of what you've cooked, and I'll show you a jutsu if you impress me."

Konohamaru pumped his fist into the air. "Just you wait! I'm gonna impress you with the best-tasting dish I can make!"

"Make sure you take your time and taste-test it yourself, dattebayo," added Naruto, "People will try to be nice and tell you it tastes good, but ultimately you're the final judge."

The Hokage's grandson ran down the street, a veritable ball of fire and enthusiasm. "You think he's gonna do it meowster?" asked Taeko.

"If he's that enthusiastic about it, then he'll come back to me with something," answered Naruto, "C'mon, we've gotta get going."

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy]

The atmosphere was calm in the classroom as the graduates lounged around in their seats, waiting for Iruka to step onto the podium with team assignments. Not so for the Uchiha twins, who were still dealing with the mass of fangirls and fanboys that were crowding around them asking for a date.

"I'd thought that the graduation exam would make things easier," groused Sasuke, trying to ignore his fair share of fangirls.

"Yeah, well at least the graduation exam winnowed most of them," Natsuki answered, trying to power through the fanboys trying to ask her out, "With any luck, they'll be competent enough for our teams."

Of all the students Natsuki wanted to pass, Uzumaki Naruto was on the shortlist. Strength, speed, and animal cunning rolled into one package; the only ones that could exceed him in those regards were her brother and the Inuzukas. Add to the fact that he had access to the entire Hunter arsenal and he had a Palico assistant, and he would have been a very interesting prospect to work with. _Doesn't hurt that he's ripped too,_ she thought lecherously.

Her thoughts came to a halt when she heard the doors opening, and in walked Uzumaki Naruto with his Palico, with a scroll in hand and a hitai-ate tied around his head. Most of the graduating class watched in curiosity as the two of them descended the stairs, stunned to silence as to what they were seeing. Half of Natsuki was glad to see him, the other was wondering what he was doing back.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what're you doing here, Naruto-kun?" asked Ashi, playing with her puppies.

"Make-up exam," Naruto answered, "Iruka decided to give me another chance after all."

Before Natsuki or Ashi could ask him what he meant, Iruka stepped onto the podium. "Iruka-sensei, is it true that Naruto took a make-up exam?" asked Sakura.

Iruka set down his clipboard to regard the pinkette. "Yes he did, Sakura. Turns out that he had more than enough merit to be a Shinobi after all. Anyway, it's time for Team Assignments; but before we begin, I just wanna say that I couldn't be any more proud of this class. The only advice I have for you would be to work hard, pay attention to your new sensei, and you should have better odds out in the world. Now let's begin…"

As Iruka began to call out the names of the teams being assigned on his clipboard, Natsuki had a look around the classroom, immediately noting that Hinata was sitting above Naruto. Her fingers were tented and she blushed as she looked down at him. Not a surprise; after he'd come back from his hiatus, a small fanclub of girls quietly blossomed as the school year went on, gradually taking more of the heat from her brother. Though a good number of the noisier ones had worked up the confidence to talk to him as well, Sasuke's portion was almost all noisy fangirls.

In all honesty, while Natsuki had quietly co-founded the Naruto Fangirl Camp with Ashi, both of them were sensible enough to not neglect their training or destroy their relationships over it. _I probably should just up and ask him out, but I don't want to be like those other fangirls._

"Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Ami, you're going to be Team Seven," announced Iruka.

Natsuki hazarded a glance towards a pale girl with violet hair, with a triumphant smile plastered on her smug face. As far as Sasuke fangirls went, Ami was among the worst; to be fair, she had demonstrated the potential to actually be a noteworthy kunoichi. The problem was that in addition to her arrogance, she was a known bully, having tormented Sakura quite a bit when she was younger.

Speaking of Sakura, she was a girl who simply had a lot more potential than Ami did as a kunoichi. While her physical scores were so-so and her survival skills needed work, her academic skills more than compensated for her shortcomings. In all honesty, Natsuki could only applaud her in her ability to recall facts at the drop of a hat. If only she would stop giving nii-chan the googly eyes and start taking her training seriously.

"Team Eight will be Hyūga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba," Iruka continued.

Hinata looked dejected when her name was announced, without Naruto in her team. Natsuki couldn't blame her; of all the girls in the Naruto Fan Club, she hadn't seen any one of them truly have feelings for him like the Hyūga princess. Still, she could see that there was an inner strength in her that rivalled her own; all she needed was a strong backbone, and she could be unchallenged in everything. _Well, not if I have any say in it._

While she was not in a team with their shared crush, Natsuki _did_ know of the Hyūga heiress's other two teammates. Kiba and Shino were each capable in their own right, forming a specialized tracker team with Hinata.

"Team Nine's still in circulation, which is a relief," added the teacher, continuing down the list, "Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru, you are Team Ten."

"Chip off the old block, eh Ino?" Natsuki teased over her shoulder.

Ino said nothing in favor of pinching the bridge of her nose as though she had a migraine. Just as before, she was part of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, which made her team assault and assassination specialists. That being said, even if they were separated, they could each survive on their respective specialties.

"And by process of elimination, Uchiha Natsuki, Inuzuka Ashi, and Uzumaki Naruto as Team Eleven."

Natsuki said nothing, but was cheering on the inside that she was placed in the same team as Naruto. Not to mention that she liked to pet Taeko whenever she had the opportunity; the Felyne and Ashi's German Shepherds had a friendly competition on who was the better companion. _I think dogs are fine, but I think I'm more a cat person._

"Well, that's about it," Iruka announced, putting down his clipboard, "Everyone is to wait here in class until your jōnin sensei comes for you. Until then, I would recommend that you all sit with your teammates, and maybe get to know each other."

As she and Ashi arrived at Naruto's desk, Natsuki watched him unfurl a scroll with Taeko next to him. After running his blood through many lines of text, the desk was engulfed in a thick burst of smoke before unveiling a neatly-organized set of tools.

Ashi whistled in amazement, eyeing the collection of knives on one side of the desk. "Now _those_ are knives."

Scanning the desktop, Natsuki saw that there was a total of six knives on the desk of increasing size and varying shapes, each of them an over-sized scalpel to suit a different purpose. They were joined by a machete with a serrated spine, as well as a hatchet and a larger, two-handed axe each with a wide hammer face on the back. The more overt tools among them were a pickaxe, a round sharpening stone, a small trowel, an even larger shovel, and a fire steel.

"You're prepared for everything aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, well last time I gave these a full workout, I was in this place with all these giant animals," Naruto answered, inspecting each of the razor-sharp knives with Taeko, "Actually carved up a pretty big centipede with the knives. I think that place was called 'Training Ground 44?'"

Ashi's eyes widened as soon as she'd heard where he was. "You went there and _lived_?"

"I needed some fresh air," Naruto answered simply, putting away the knives in favor of his hatchet.

"I can see why you'd need everything else for a hunt, but why the pickaxe?" asked Natsuki.

"In case we find ore deposits," replied the blond, sharpening the hatchet's bit, "Sometimes the Hunters are contracted to work as prospectors. Besides, we also use those ores to make stuff."

As he put down his hatchet to inspect the bit of his larger axe, Ashi moved in closer. "So, a giant centipede, huh?"

"Massive, I figure it was…what, 6 meters, maybe 35 kilos?" answered Naruto, sealing his tools back in the scroll before regarding Ashi with no small amount of pride, "The thing was fast and vicious as hell, but the meat was fine, and I made stuff with the rest of the body."

"What kinda stuff?" Natsuki queried.

Before Naruto could say a word, a Shinobi entered the classroom with an amicable expression on his face. He wore the Konoha Leaf riveted onto the forehead of his happuri, his spiky brown hair splaying everywhere from the top like the branches of a tree. He was dressed in a flak jacket over his indigo turtleneck, and his slacks were tied around his ankles like most Shinobi.

"Team Eleven?" he asked, looking around in the classroom. Almost automatically, the three Genin raised their hands in response, quickly catching the Shinobi's attention. "Meet me at the bench outside the tower."

The shinobi vanished in a puff of smoke, causing the three genin and their partners to look at each other in confusion before walking down the steps.

…

[Outside the Hokage Tower]

The genin and pets of Team Eleven quickly found their apparent jōnin sensei sitting on a bench, waiting for them.

"Gather round, and settle down," he said, folding his arms across his chest, "This may take a bit of time, so might as well make yourselves comfortable."

The six of them sat on the ground, forming a semicircle around the shinobi. "Now for introductions; your likes, dislikes, hobbies, what you can bring to the table, and dreams."

"Why don't we start with you, sensei?" Natsuki asked, "So we get a good idea on how to go about it."

"Very well," began the shinobi, "You may call me Yamato. Likes? Well, I like walnuts, but I dislike oily foods. I like to study architecture as a hobby. What I can bring to the table, now that's a surprise. My dream is to finally fight a certain somebody. Now then, since you asked, you get to go first Ms. Crow."

Natsuki coughed into her hand, before straightening her back. "The name's Uchiha Natsuki. I like a lot of things, and I have very few dislikes. Hobby? Well that'd be telling, now wouldn't it? What I can bring to the table, well that'd be a surprise. My dream? I dunno, maybe revive the Uchiha clan or be the first female and Uchiha Hokage? I'm kinda split right there."

Yamato heaved a sigh before turning his attention to Ashi. "How about you, pup?"

"Pup?" Ashi asked indignantly, "I'll have you know that I'm Inuzuka Ashi, heiress to the Inuzuka clan." She gestured to her German shepherds. "These are my ninken partners Natsuhime and Akihime; they're identical twin sisters." The two puppies barked in unison. "I like my ninken, Naruto-kun, and Hunter jerky; what I don't like are strong perfumes, loud fangirls, and Uchiha Sasuke…no offense Natsuki-chan."

The girl in question shrugged off the jab at her brother, waving her hand nonchalantly. "None taken, there are times when even I think he's an asshole."

Ashi nodded in appreciation. "Anyway, hobbies? I like to spend time with my family in the veterinary clinic, and going to the Lodge to look at Lindholm's knives. What I can bring to the table are strong senses, and extra hands for the fight. My ultimate dream is to go on an expedition to the New World, and maybe starting a family after that."

Yamato nodded in approval. "Well, that's everybody, except for blondie and kitty over here…"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and this is my Palico Taeko," began said blond genin, gently stroking his Palico's ears, "I like ramen and my important people; I don't like the time it takes for ramen to finish cooking, and the way things are between Hunters and Shinobi. For my hobbies, I like gardening, and now hunting. I'm a trained and licensed Hunter, which gives me access to Hunter weapons; I'm also pretty good in a knife fight, a decent tracker and survivalist, and a fair cook. My dream is to become Hokage, but not before I hunt an Elder Dragon."

Upon hearing Naruto's dream, Natsuki and Ashi's mouths were agog. Natsuhime and Akihime both looked at him as though he'd grown two extra heads. "Big dreams," Yamato noted, "Okay then, let's get down to business. Tomorrow morning, all of you are coming together for a little graduation test."

"Say what?" asked Ashi, "I thought we'd already done one in the academy."

Yamato chortled ominously. "Oh that? That was just to see if you had what it takes to be shinobi; this is one to see if you kids really are shinobi material. Meet me at Training Ground 14 at seven in the morning; fail to impress me, then I've got the power to send you all back to the academy." Everyone on Team Eleven gulped in response, disturbed as their leader took on a sincerely friendly grin. "You kids have the rest of the day to relax and prepare. Dismissed."

…

[Streets of Konoha, half an hour later]

"Zenny for your thoughts, meowster?" asked Taeko, strolling with her partner.

"I guess it's kinda sobering, finding out why the villagers treated me the way they did, dattebayo," Naruto answered, "Still, I guess Mangetsu-sensei was right; I gotta earn their respect. It's just that it's a lot harder for me than anyone else to get their respect."

"You know my position, nya," replied the Palico, nodding in understanding, "I've always had your back since the day we met."

When Naruto first met Taeko, she was a masterless Felyne that had been unable to form a contract with a Hunter for several years, so she'd resorted to raiding Akimichi restaurants for scraps of fish and sausages to survive. On their first encounter several weeks into his Hunter training, she stole his bag of sausages, prompting a chase into an alleyway; the sausages were stolen by a hungry family of mice during the scuffle, leaving both the Felyne and Naruto hungry for the night. Eventually the two of them would form a friendship that led to Naruto finally hiring her on as his Palico a couple of months before his time in the Academy.

"Thanks, Taeko," said Naruto, affectionately scratching the Palico's ears.

The two of them came to a stop by a particular residence surrounded with a stone wall, and a pair of ornate wrought iron gates that barred entrance to a fairly large, reddish-brown house. The stone walkway leading into the residence was flanked with towering black pines on both sides, contrasting with the unkempt lawn surrounding the house. The only thing that didn't belong was the weathered old seal tag that was pasted onto the gates; in spite of its apparent age, it stayed in place, as though in defiance of the elements.

"What're we doing here, meowster?"

"I dunno, but whenever I take a walk, I sometimes wind up coming here," answered Naruto, "It's been like this for as long as I could remember, dattebayo."

"What harm could come from exploring?" queried the Palico.

"Believe me, I've always wanted to open those gates and see what's in there, but I keep feeling like I've got eyes on me whenever I pass by," replied the master, "Like a thief that's waiting for me to go in so they could take the stuff there. Now that I've got a new jutsu, I could easily take care of the thief problem, though I still have to worry if someone still lives there."

Taeko peeked her face through some of the wrought-iron scrollwork, sniffing the air within. "I don't smell anyone in there, nya. We're good to go exploring."

Naruto smirked, crossing his fingers together. "Then there's only one thing left to do."

Taeko leaped onto her master's back, before the two of them vanished in a thick puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was an army of Naruto's armed with a felling axe and a hatchet, each one supported with a Taeko that was armed with a pickaxe.

"I need some of you to stay behind and make sure nobody goes in after us," ordered Naruto as Taeko lowered herself from his shoulders, "The rest of you are gonna see if there's anybody else in the area. Try to scare them off first, but get ready to fight if they still won't leave."

"You got it," answered one of the Bunshin.

As Six Bunshin brandished their axes and stood vigil near the gates, the rest darted off to find the person that had been watching him. Naruto turned to the gate, and tore off the seal in one pull, feeling sensation of electricity flooding his veins as soon as it was completely removed. Curiously, he pushed the gate open, and walked into the courtyard, quickly closing it behind him to minimize the risk of letting the supposed thief in.

Strolling down the walkway, Naruto and Taeko were able to get a better look at the house in question. It stood roughly three stories tall, with pointed cones at the top that gave the impression of ancient Old World-style buildings he'd seen in picture books, and maybe in one or two Fujikaze Yukie movies. Off to the side, he could see what looked like a greenhouse attached to the building for maximum sunlight. All in all, it looked like a miniaturized castle.

Naruto's imagination ran wild as he pictured what could be in the house. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us, dattebayo."

…

[Outside the estate]

Hinata ran down the street as soon as she saw the multitude of Naruto's Bunshin scattering from the building she'd seen him going into. The idea that she'd been found following him to this very spot was enough to send her running; a more perverted part of her wanted to be found. The problem was that these did not seem to be any ordinary Bunshin, and they looked downright menacing with their tree-cutting axes. Add to that the fact that they mistook her for some kind of thief, and it was all the reason she needed to get out of dodge.

As she hid next to a lamppost, she took a moment to catch her breath. There was only so much distance a Bunshin could cover after all. She was quickly proven wrong when one Bunshin ran in from the side of her vision, the top of his axe firmly pressed against her chest. "Gotcha you b━Hinata?!"

The two of them stared at each other awkwardly, as Hinata began to turn a rosy pink, sweating nervously at the situation. She had no idea whether it was because Naruto was looking at her, because he could have killed her, or the fact that his axe was pressed in the valley of her developing bust.

"What're you doing here?" asked the Bunshin, gently extricating the axe from her chest.

Hinata said nothing, instead trembling in fear as her skin reddened, ignoring the Bunshin's calls for her attention.

"You catching a fever or something?" he asked, pressing a hand against her forehead and his own.

Her mind was racing, trying to find a single response to Naruto's touch. In the end she settled on one response…

…

[Unknown Mansion]

Naruto barely touched the doorknob, when he felt a sudden wave of pain on his forehead, as well as a sensation of static electricity gently running up his spine and into his brain.

"What's wrong, meowster?" Taeko asked.

"Well, we found our 'thief,'" Naruto answered, massaging his head, "Looks like Hinata-chan decided to follow us all the way from class. One of the Bunshin cornered her, checked to see if she had a fever, and then she headbutt him."

"How do you know all that?" queried the Palico.

"I dunno, I just…" Naruto was cut off when he felt more electricity running into his brain.

"What now, nya?"

"The Bunshin decided to try something, dattebayo," Naruto replied, "Looks like whenever one of my Kage Bunshin are dispelled, I get their memories. Hinata's fainted, and they're bringing her over, so we're going to meet them at the gates."

Naruto and Taeko walked towards the gates, watching as the Bunshin army had returned, one of them with Hinata in a bridal carry. As soon as they arrived, Naruto opened the gate to take her from his arms. "We're still not out of the woods yet," he ordered, propping the girl up against a tree, "While we're exploring the joint, you guys keep on the move, and make sure nobody's out there."

"You got it boss," answered the Bunshin, leaving with his colleagues.

Satisfied that everything was squared away, Naruto turned his attention back to the unconscious Hinata, kneeling in front of her. "Hey, Hinata-chan!" he said, gently tapping at her cheek, "Hinata!"

The Hyūga heiress stirred, her pale lilac eyes slowly opening to see him. She squeaked as she crawled backwards up the tree, trying to get a hold of her surroundings. "What just happened?" she asked, "Where are we?"

"We're in the mansion's courtyard, dattebayo," Naruto answered, "What were you doing here?"

"I-I-I…saw you walking down the street," she stammered, "I wanted to know where you were going."

Naruto sighed, standing up. "Well, since you're here, might as well stick around a bit. Taeko and I were about to explore when we found you in the area, you wanna come with?"

Hinata nodded slowly.

"Then stay close, it's my first time here too."

Naruto and Taeko opened the doors of the mansion, Hinata following them closely as they explored. Much of the floorboards were made of richly-oiled red oak, complemented with stained cherry veneers; areas that would be exposed to moisture on a regular basis such as restrooms were made of solid stone and marble instead. Overall, the mansion looked like a miniature hunting lodge.

The greenhouse had a small farm inside for harvesting edible plants, and was large enough to house a small rice paddy. Off to the side was a small herb and spice garden, of which included varieties that would have been expensive to import from the Old World. There wasn't a lot of variety in the greenhouse, just the standard fare of apples, oranges, and potatoes. Everything inside wasn't enough to supply the village during a famine by any means; just enough to help stretch the the already large pantry if properly rationed.

Said pantry was stocked to the nines with food that could last several years before needing to be restocked, including nuts of all kinds. In addition to preserved meats and sweets, there were a number of dry ingredients such as rice flour, sea salt, as well as yeast cultures both for baking and brewing. Unsurprisingly, it was directly beneath the kitchen, which had enough space and tools for a master chef to work their magic in any style of cooking. In the middle was a small bar with a knife block, wooden chopping board and a whetstone on top of the counter, and wreaths of dried herbs and spices hanging overhead.

"Whoever lived here must have entertained often," Hinata noted, admiring the quality of the hand-carved, wooden table nearby.

"They're probably loaded too, dattebayo," agreed Naruto, indicating the inlaid mother of pearl diamonds surrounding the edge of the table, "This is big enough to seat eight people easy."

The trio continued with their exploration, finding a large armory on the first floor. There was a number of weapons stocked on the wall racks; kunai, shuriken, tantō, even a few ninjatō were seen organized neatly. Storage scrolls were kept on a shelf near a thick, wooden workbench with tools on a separate rack nearby. What caught everyone's attention on top of the workbench was an odd-looking tri-pronged kunai with a thick, wooden grip.

In the middle of the room, there were a pair of standard-issue shinobi flak jackets and hitai-ate on specialized mannequins for easy access. Near the back of the room was a set similar to what Hunters would wear. Naruto could identify the scales of a Tobi-Kadachi tail made into a mantle that protected the back and shoulders. While much of the suit was made of durable silks and cottons, the more serious protection consisted of kote sleeves made from Tobi-Kadachi scales, and a pair of suneate and a dō made of lacquered leather. The head was protected with a steel hitai-ate with Tobi-Kadachi fangs and claws cut and arranged to resemble a crown with "影" engraved dead-center on the forehead. Overall, it was a suit of armor made with only the finest of materials, without compromising on functionality.

"Okay, it's official," Naruto noted, studying the armor, "Whoever owns this place is rich."

"Why is that?" asked Hinata.

"I hear it's a tradition that started at the end of the Clan Wars, dattebayo," explained the Shinobi Hunter, "When Senju Hashirama became the Shodaime Hokage, Pops commissioned a suit of Rathalos armor specifically tailored to him. It was a gift to celebrate both his inauguration as Hokage, and as a symbol of friendly relations between the village and the Guild.

"Then, when Hashirama got married, Pops gave the couple a fancy set of paired knives made from Rathalos and Rathian parts as a wedding gift. Now I know what you're gonna say: 'why knives?' Well, being a Hunter to the core, Pops wanted to give them a gift that was beautiful and practical. That, and he specifically chose Rathalos and Rathian parts because they're known to love and protect each other for life, and they become even more dangerous when people threaten their family. That's why to the Hunters, a Rath pair is a symbol of eternal love.

"Anyway, from then on, all Kages would receive two major gifts from the local Guild branch," finished Naruto, "A unique suit of custom-tailored, monster-themed armor from their native country to commemorate the day they came into office, and a paired set of Rath knives for their marriage. Alone, they already cost a lot because they're still very functional works of art; sell them as a lot, and you're pretty much set for a while."

"How much are they worth?" asked Hinata, admiring the armor.

"Honestly, I dunno 'cause every set's different, dattebayo," Naruto answered, stroking his chin in thought, "But one time, I'd heard that a collector got the Shodaime Mizukage's armor at about twenty-five thousand zenny at auction, while someone else got both of his wedding knives at five thousand."

Hinata's eyes widened at the admission, sputtering in shock at the price she'd heard. "T-t-t-thirty thousand _zenny_?!"

"Yeah, why?" asked Naruto, curious as to Hinata's reaction.

"Naruto-kun, _one_ zenny alone is worth about 1000 ryō!" she answered, in shock.

Naruto thought quietly about the value of the zenny, his mouth falling open in realization. That meant that a zenny could easily buy him three regular bowls of ramen at Ichiraku's, each of which was worth 290 ryō. "I _thought_ they were priceless already, but hearing this? Now that's _priceless_. Only thing that would seal the deal is if these people also bought the wedding knives."

"Like those knives, meowster?" asked Taeko, indicating a stand fairly close to the workbench.

"You've got to be kidding me," Naruto muttered, looking at the items in question.

Planted in the bottom of the display case were a pair of large, red and green bone knives with straight spines that gently tapered into spear point blades. Their guards incorporated Rathalos and Rathian plates typical of Kage wedding knives, and their curved, leather-wrapped hilts terminated in a bronze hook that for a more secure grip. Embedded into each blade was an ovate gemstone tightly-fitted into a hole in the ricasso; a blood red crystal for the Rathalos knife and a toxic green for the Rathian knife. Carved onto the faces of each blade were horimono depicting plum blossoms in full bloom flanked on both sides by small, scrollwork clouds. Aside from the fact that they were made from two separate creatures, both knives were identical in every aspect; same shape, same material, even the same balance. Propped up on the base of the stand was a small card that read:

 _"To the Loving Couple,_

 _Happy Anniversary!_

 _It's late, but it just feels right that these go to you._

 _Congrats on making Hokage._

 _Best wishes,_

 _-Everybody at the Lodge."_

"Just whose house are we in?" the blond genin mused to himself.

The genin and Palico trio explored the upper levels of the mansion, and quickly found a small library. The books were organized in shelves against the wall near a window, and a desk in the corner for studying. Taking up another wall was a brick column built into a wall that was connected to the fireplace, and a few leather loungers strewn about the room near it for extra warmth in the winter.

It wasn't a large selection of books by any means, but the shelves had a respectable variety in subjects. Many of the books in the shelves included tai- and bukijutsu treatises, or were nin- and genjutsu textbooks. Other books were for leisure, including a signed copy of "Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi." Practically the typical reads for a fairly rich shinobi that kept up their practice.

Near the library was a set of four guest rooms that shared a communal restroom. Each guest room was large enough to accommodate three or four people comfortably; five if they were generous. Each one had a closet and a view outside, as well as a desk and wall outlets. Just outside the hall leading to the guest rooms was an old-school television set with a wooden chassis for the rainy days; it wasn't so old that the pictures were black and white, just old enough to be big and bulky while still able to play cable TV. It also had a VCR and an old-fashioned digital cable box -which was undoubtedly useless now- with corresponding remotes.

The first thing that greeted the three of them upon reaching the third floor was a console with a number of photographs on it. While they were all taken with various cameras, and their condition varied, the images they captured were well-preserved. Each one either depicted the Yondaime Hokage or a striking redhead he was sometimes seen with.

What immediately caught Naruto's eye was probably the oldest photo of the lot. It depicted a very young Hokage sitting in the Hunting Lodge with a mango cake that had six lit candles in front of him and a smile on his face. The towering mass of muscle that sat next to him however, was one that Naruto knew very well; it was hard to forget that stark white, crescent-shaped handlebar mustache.

"Naruto-kun, isn't that the Guild Master?" asked Hinata, taking note of the smiling giant in the photo.

"Yeah, that's Pops alright," Naruto agreed, "He's a little younger here, but I'd recognize him anytime, anywhere. What's he doing here, dattebayo?"

The Konoha Guild Master was one of the few Wyverians that had grown to a gargantuan 666 centimeters, 835 kilograms of pure muscle instead of shrinking in his old age. He was among the first Hunters to set foot in the Shinobi Nations, having been the commander of the first expedition before setting camp in what was now Hi no Kuni. Since then, the old Wyverian had seen more than his fair share of conflict, having been around even before the time of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Although given his people's longevity, and how scarce records were from that time, Naruto wasn't surprised if the old man witnessed who drew first blood in the Warring States Period.

Outside of his old age and skill as a fighter, he was specifically known for treating all his Hunters as if they were his own sons and daughters. Killing one of them warranted a visit from his detachment of Knights, assuming he didn't want to resolve the matter personally; mainly because he was a sincere believer of honor in the world, and because he truly loved them like family. To the rest of the world, he was known as Shirohige with an even helping of dread, awe, and respect; but to the Hunters that were a part of his branch -especially those closest to him- he was known affectionately as 'Pops' or 'Old Man.'

Looking through the collection of photos over the years, Naruto noted that the veteran Hunter was in quite a few of them; as though he'd been there for them for most of their lives. A newer one in color depicted the Hokage sitting on the Guild Master's lap while the redhead sat on his shoulder, both of them proudly wearing a hitai-ate on their heads. Judging from how young they were, they'd just graduated from the academy.

"I always knew Pops was right up there with the Hokage," Naruto noted, "I just didn't think he was close to any of them."

Every photograph seemed to tell the story of the Yondaime Hokage and the mysterious redhead he was often seen with. Sometimes Pops was in them, sometimes he wasn't, but Naruto had seen more than a few familiar faces in the story. One of them had Mangetsu and Mikazuki having dinner with the couple in the Hunting Lodge…and then there was a second photo of them shortly after an apparent food fight. That must've been a nightmare to clean up, Naruto thought in amusement.

The last picture showed the Yondaime Hokage and the redhead in wedding kimono; Pops was there in the background, toasting with a large cask of saké in his hand, and the Moon Siblings stood with them. The only thing different was that they were joined by an old man with spiky white hair and red markings going down his face. This one was autographed with well wishes from the Guild Master, Mangetsu and Mikazuki, and apparently the other man in the photo named 'Jiraiya.'

"Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata, gently shaking Naruto out of his reverie.

"I need to see Pops about this," Naruto answered, "I've gotta know whose house we're walking around in."

"What about your sensei's exam tomorrow?" the Hyūga heiress reminded, "I don't know about you, but I know that Kurenai-sensei is asking us to do one."

Naruto clapped his hand on his forehead. "Ah crap! I was so hyped about finally looking around in this place that I forgot all about it, dattebayo!" He sighed in defeat. "Nothing I can do about it now, so I guess I'll see have to see him about it tomorrow. Sorry if I got you in trouble with your dad, Hinata-chan."

"T-t-there's no problem, Naruto-kun!" Hinata stammered, turning red with embarrassment, "I really…appreciate being with you on this."

…

[Hashirama Art Gallery]

Sitting quietly in the halls of the Hashirama Art Gallery, Danzo admired a number of sumi-e paintings hanging on the walls. A fair number of them were from local artists, while others were purchased from art merchants. A small part of the collection however, were spoils of war that had been sold to the gallery for thousands; some of which were once part of his collection.

The work that Danzo was looking at was among the ones he'd taken from the Second Shinobi World War. It depicted a stampede of wild horses running freely down a cliff and through a river, with a couplet written off to the side, signed by the artist Shokichi of Tsuchi no Kuni. It truly wasn't the highest-priced work of art he'd auctioned off, but it still brought up a lot of memories of the war both good and bad.

"Danzo-sama," whispered a feminine voice from behind, "We've received word that Uzumaki Naruto has entered the mansion."

Danzo huffed, walking down the hallway. "So, fate works in mysterious ways after all."

"I have teams at the ready to search the mansion."

The elder paused in thought. "No, let the boy keep his find," he sighed, continuing down the hallway, "As much as I want every little treasure that place holds, it's far too risky for us to make an attempt. Now that Hiruzen is keeping an even closer eye on us after the Guild Master threatened to leave, he's just waiting for us to give him an excuse to make war with us. Besides, we couldn't get in even if we tried━Minato and his red-haired wench made damn sure that only Naruto is permitted to enter. Is there anything else you need to report?"

"Yes, Danzo-sama," added the voice from behind, "It seems that Uzumaki Naruto has allowed Hyūga Hinata into the premises."

"Regardless, the order still stands," Danzo stated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "We cannot risk any moves that would bring the Hokage's full attention on us. We may yet have an opportunity to plunder the riches of that house for the glory of Konoha. We need only wait for our moment to strike."

"As you wish."

…

[Training Ground 14]

Settling down near a dying campfire, Naruto checked the actuation of his slinger before taking in the surrounding area, his nose making sure the skewered grubs didn't burn on the campfire. A quick look on the way over showed that there wasn't much in the way of big game for him to hunt. He'd seen a kelbi family or two, a few wild chickens, and he thought he'd seen a few geckos that glowed in the dark.

As he took in the ambient sounds of nature around him, Naruto's nose had picked up subtle scents approaching in his direction. Looking away from the woods, he turned to see that Ashi and Natsuki arrived, with Natsuhime and Akihime trailing slightly behind their mistress.

"About time you guys got here," he said, beckoning his team to have a seat around the campfire, "Breakfast is served."

"Are those wriggly litchi?" asked the Inuzuka heiress, eyeing the breakfast with no small amount of interest. The twin puppies on the other hand, drooled as they took in the scent of the roasting grubs.

"That they are," Naruto answered simply, "Unless you don't really like them so much?"

"What're you talking about? I love them!" exclaimed Ashi, picking one skewer for herself and her ninken, "Mom sometimes serves them up for dessert!"

"Why would we eat those when you've already got rations?" asked Natsuki, somewhat perturbed by Naruto's choice of food.

"That's exactly what I thought, when I was training as a Hunter," Naruto explained, handing Natsuki her skewer, "I stopped laughing at my teachers for eating bugs when some foxes stole our ration kits while we were asleep. Trust me, we're probably gonna need it soon; besides the quick proteins and nutrients that wriggly litchi gives you, it makes it so you don't tire as easy, so it's also a natural soldier pill."

Certain that it was a fight she wasn't going to win anytime soon, Natsuki gingerly bit into her grub. "This actually isn't that bad, almost like chicken and shrimp."

"That's not all," added Yamato, walking in from the woods, "Get a number of the domesticated ones together with the Aburame clan, and they can spin enough silk to make a sheet about as strong as steel thread; though spider silk is still way stronger and more versatile. And the good thing is they're not that hard to find; eight times out of ten, you'll find them in any dry, rotting log. Though it's a shame you didn't prepare one for me, Naruto."

"I thought you'd have already eaten, dattebayo," Naruto said, finishing off his grub, "Besides, these were only ones I'd managed to find on the way here."

"Still would've been considerate of you," Yamato sniped back, before settling down, "Anyway, breakfast is over; time to get to work. For your graduation exercise, the three of you are going to search the forest for a creature I've found, and you have until noon to bring it back here alive. Fail to find the creature, and I will fail you."

"Sensei, how do we know what we're looking for?" asked Ashi.

"I marked it using an old-fashioned Hunter paintball I bought from a Guild surplus store," answered Yamato, producing a handful of small red balls from his pocket, "These really come in handy when you're going into areas where there are a whole lot of thieves with valuables on hand; that way, they can't say that they found it fair and square. Anyway, I suggest you get going before I have to expel all three of you in about…" He looked at the watch, quickly finding the time. "Five hours and counting."

The three of them froze momentarily before running into the forest with their respective partners. Yamato chuckled in amusement as he settled down near the campfire; his relief was short-lived when he noticed a smoking, black object planted into the ground. It was a good distance behind the log that Naruto sat on; add to the fact that the smoke was blowing downwind from the campfire, and it was easy for even an Inuzuka clansman to miss.

Curiosity winning out over his desire to settle down, Yamato walked towards the steaming black thing. A closer look revealed that it had a rough, organic texture with an ovate shape, like an inverted teardrop, or a streamlined egg. The top of the egg-thing had a subtle ring around it, as if it were originally attached to something. A look around the area revealed that there were more of these steaming egg-things planted into the ground arranged in a massive line, intensifying his worry.

Yamato wasn't a Hunter, but he knew of only one creature that could leave such a deadly mess. Screw the test, I'm bringing them all back!

…

(Team Eleven)

The genin team had stopped near a tree stump, taking a moment's reprieve. It'd been a good hour since they'd sped into the forest, gradually taking it slow while keeping an eye out for the animal they were supposed to capture alive. Whatever it was, had been marked with a red paintball, which made it somewhat easier for the genin team to find their quarry. Even though Hunters worldwide were slowly adopting the use of scoutflies to track down prey, the old-fashioned paintball was simply more versatile overall.

"We're probably gonna have to split up to cover more ground," Ashi noted, as Natsuhime and Akihime whimpered in disappointment.

"I don't see any other option, dattebayo," Naruto agreed, sniffing the area as he reached for two scrolls at the small of back, "Still, we need to keep in touch in case we do."

The Shinobi Hunter knelt down on the ground, unfurling both scrolls, one labeled 'tools' and the other 'weapons.' After searching every line on the tool scroll, Naruto pricked his finger with his knife and ran his blood across one line, engulfing the scroll in a small puff of smoke before clearing away. On top of the scroll were three bamboo tubes with strings threaded into a hole in the side, and a small ball at the other end.

Naruto ran his blood across another two lines on the tool scroll, summoning a large, thick disk from one line, and a bandolier with eight cylindrical items with ring pins. He then turned his attention to the weapon scroll, summoning a large, folded mechanical bow and a quiver from it.

The bow had an insectoid appearance to it, as the limbs were covered and reinforced with overlapping scales of chitin cut along the limbs, and its stabilizer resembled a long, segmented spike. In order to make it more user-friendly, it had an ambidextrous arrow rest, and the arm for holding the jar could swivel and lock in place on either side. The cams and sprockets for the roller chain that strung it were decorated with the razor-sharp fangs of a centipede, and a leather-wrapped steel cable acted as a nocking point. Lastly, the quiver that it came with was covered in the black, chitinous plates of a centipede, with the white fletching of metal arrows poking out from it.

Satisfied with his preparations, Naruto handed the disk to Taeko, and placed the bandolier diagonally across his chest before rolling up and holstering both scrolls into the small of his back. Taeko hung the disk on a sling before securing it on her back. "We don't have throat mics, so we'll have to make do with signal flares," he explained, hanging the quiver over his shoulder, "As soon as you see the prey, hold it up and give the string a hard tug; it'll let us know where you are."

"What happens if we don't find it?" asked Natsuki, picking up her flare as Naruto hung the bow on the small of his back.

"In that case, we meet…" Whatever Naruto had to say was lodged in his throat when he noticed that Natsuhime and Akihime were whimpering and lying down on the ground with their tails tucked between their legs. Ashi knelt down next to them, almost trembling in sync with them. "Guys, we gotta get outta here," she croaked, "Something bad's up ahead."

Naruto and Taeko scanned the area ahead before noticing something odd. For some reason, there was a hole in the ground that was roughly large enough for a person to fit in perfectly. The way that the edges gradually crumbled away meant that it hadn't been there for long, and the lack of any claw marks or footprints at the rim were signs that it wasn't an exit hole.

"Looks like we've got a Brute Wyvern, dattebayo," he noted, "Fumi-sensei said that they like to tunnel underground when they _really_ have to move—makes it a pain to take them down without a detection specialist. Whatever it was that made that hole was just passing by, and needed a breath of fresh air."

"So what do we do meow?" asked Taeko.

"Hate to say it, but I think we should continue," said Natsuki, "We've already come this far, might as well have something to show for it."

"What about the Brute Wyvern?" Ashi queried, calming her puppies down.

"Then we'll just have to be extra careful, dattebayo," Naruto added, "Only problem is, you and I can only track things when we have a scent trail, and I don't think either of us wants to go down there to get one. We need to be able to know when it's coming so that we can get ready."

"I can handle that just fine," Natsuki chirped, her onyx eyes turning red with a single tomoe in each, swirling in an inward spiral.

"You have the Sharingan?" Ashi asked, her mouth gaping in wonder.

"So does Nii-chan," noted the Uchiha heiress, dispelling her dōjutsu, "Funny, he's always the first at everything between the two of us, but I was the first to do this. Anyway, I have the ability to see chakra with these eyes, so I can see a little bit if that Brute Wyvern's coming; problem is, I'm gonna be eating up chakra as long as they're active, so I'll only activate them when we find the prey."

Naruto smirked in confidence. "Then we've got a plan." He turned his attention to Ashi. "Your puppies ready to go?"

Natsuhime and Akihime whimpered in response before reluctantly getting up on their feet. "They'll be fine, but they just told me 'beware the World-Eater.'"

"And we will," assured Naruto, "Let's stick together. If we run into it before we find the prey, then we run like hell."

Everyone nodded in assent. The genin team continued into the forest, keeping their eyes open for their prey. It wasn't long until they found an unnatural splash of red on greenish-yellow scales in a clearing. The creature had a reptilian appearance, with a long tail and small spikes running down the length of its spine. Its hind legs were stubby compared to its overdeveloped and spiked forelegs, and much of its back was covered in a large, messy mane that gave the impression of dreadlocks. Yellow slitted eyes scanned the area for potential meals to fit into its large, sharp-toothed maw before drifting off to sleep; it also had a bloated dark green sack for a stomach that was currently digesting a large prey item that was kicking weakly.

The prey was surrounded by a pack of smaller, wolf-sized lizards that bore a subtle resemblance it. They were leaner, with smaller manes that went up to their shoulders, and a row of four large spikes that protruded from their spines. Two of them were fighting over a small piece of meat while the rest of their pack and their apparent alpha slept off their feast.

"Okay, shouldn't be too hard, dattebayo," Naruto whispered, unfolding his bow and checking the jar in the arm, "I've dealt with Jagras packs before; they'll gang up on victims if they have the chance. They're also cowards down to the last one━kill enough of them and the rest will run away. It's the Great Jagras over there that we're interested in; Taeko and I can take it on just fine, but you ladies are probably gonna have to be more careful."

"How so?" asked the Inuzuka heiress.

"Well, as it is now, if we get within its reach it could just roll over us, or trample us to death," answered the blond genin, tightening the jar in the holder before pulling an arrow out of the quiver, "That, and it could also spit at us." Natsuki scrunched her face in disgust. "It's not gonna be as easy to take that thing alive unless we've got some Katon jutsu or weapons."

"Hello, I've got Katon jutsu," Natsuki whispered back, earning a glance from Naruto, "Hey, it's a rite of passage for the Uchiha clan."

"That's good and all, but we've still got to deal with his packmates," Ashi reminded, turning her attention to Naruto, "You have a plan to get rid of them?"

Naruto smirked. "As a matter of fact, I do."

…

(Yamato)

Moving quickly through the trees, Yamato kept his eyes open for his wayward students. The woods were thick, which enabled him much more mobility when trying to look for a target. It also made for a good place to do tracking exercises, and there were plenty of edibles around for emergencies and survival training. This was because Training Ground 14 was a fenced-in part of the Hi no Kuni wilderness that was specifically designated as a game reserve. Because it also had a number of larger predators, it was a good place for Shinobi and Hunters to sharpen their survival skills.

The prevention of monster incursions into the village through this particular training ground were threefold. First, the entrance was barred with a pair of massive, meter-thick, steel-reinforced wooden doors that were further protected with anti-elemental seals. Secondly, the village was founded on a layer of bedrock, preventing tunneling monsters from bursting into a civilian district. Thirdly, it was one of several training grounds that were close to the Hunting Lodge, which meant the Hunters would quickly respond if the monster managed to bypass the other roadblocks.

Still, those defenses were worthless when dealing with a flying animal, like the Seregios that Naruto had dealt with almost a year ago. Yamato had no doubts that he could handle it when he saw it, the only problem was that he had to find his students before they were blown to bits.

"Hey, you!" called a voice from below. Yamato looked down, and saw a large, muscular Hunter below.

He was a tall, dark-skinned, shirtless hulk that looked to be in his mid- to late-forties with a crop of wild, white hair and a short beard. His eyes were were white with blindness, and he had red tattoos swirling around his muscle-bound body. The only articles of clothing he wore were a pair of silvery gauntlets and boots, a white sash and trousers, and a steel fauld around his waist. His weapon was a nodachi in an ornate golden sheath hanging from the small of his back with a ring pommel, and a tassel hanging from it.

Yamato knew of this particular Hunter by reputation: Augus the Blind Swordsman. He was a man that literally lived for the fight, to the point that he willingly took on missions involving Invaders on a daily basis. Such was his love of fighting that he was supposedly responsible for starting more than a tenth of the brawls that happened during the infamous "Bar Wars" out of boredom. The only person he willingly took orders from was the Guild Master, if only because old Shirohige was able to match him blow for blow whenever they had a sparring match.

From what Yamato understood, he was among the few Hunters that Danzo especially wanted to kill. This was mainly due to the fact that his belligerence potentially exceeded his own, as well as the number of ROOT operatives he'd killed in self-defense with those massive hands of his. Some have joked that it all started when Augus called Danzo a 'weak, pathetic little man' to his face.

"What're you doing up there?" asked Augus.

"I'm here to get my students out of here," he answered, "I think a Bazelgeuse has invaded the training ground."

The Hunter grinned. "Is that so? Then my day just got better!"

"What do you mean?" asked Yamato, "Actually, what are _you_ doing here?"

"I was hired for a high-rank mission," explained the giant, "We've got a big pickle on our hands…a big _angry_ pickle to be exact."

Yamato's eyes widened in disbelief. "You don't mean…"

The older man laughed heartily. "Yep, we've got a Deviljho in this neck of the woods."

"What's it doing this close to the village in the first place?" asked the jōnin, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know, but I've been chasing it down for a few days now," replied Augus, "The client wants it alive, tagged, and released back into the wild. Seriously, haven't those researchers learned their lesson already? Besides, where's the fun if I can't slay it?"

Yamato could only nod in agreement. Sometimes the Guild researchers came up with strange requests, but this one made a little sense; but given the track record for such a mission, it was unlikely they'd ever succeed in studying a Deviljho in the near future. The reason there was such slow progress on studying the notorious Brute Wyvern was mainly because it was always on the move. Not helping matters was that it ate every creature it saw with its beady little eyes, including the researchers sent to study it.

Because of its gluttonous nature, the Deviljho had rightfully earned its six-star (some would argue seven-star) rating and title as 'World-Eater' due to the number of native fauna it extinctionized; it was like a miniature Elder Dragon, throwing entire ecosystems off-balance. Adding to its bloody legacy was that it tended to prioritize chakra-wielders like Shinobi whenever larger prey was unavailable. Such was its notoriety that there was a saying everybody took to heart: "When terrorists are in the area, Shinobi work together. When extremely dangerous monsters are in the area, Hunters work together. When a Deviljho is in the area, _everybody_ works together."

"Either way, we need to work fast," added Yamato, "If we don't hurry, my students could be running into either of those invaders."

"I suppose you're right," replied the Hulk, "Shinobi or not, they're still kids. Besides, it's a great opportunity for a _real_ challenge!"

…

(Team Eleven)

Naruto hid behind a tree as the rest of his team took their positions, nocking an arrow into his bow. The two Jagras fighting over the meat had long since ended their squabble. While one continued eating, the other kept silent vigil over their packmates, occasionally throwing the evil eye in the former's direction.

Satisfied the sentries were unaware of their presence, Naruto looked in Ashi's position, watching as the puppies crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce; all three were hidden behind a bush, waiting for the signal to whittle down the pack. As she noticed him looking in her direction, the Inuzuka heiress returned his attention with a thumbs up before turning her attention back at the Jagras pack.

Looking up at the tree line, Naruto found Natsuki perched on a high branch with a large kunai in hand, ready to join in the fight once the rest of the pack dispersed. The plan required her to save her chakra and use her Katon jutsu on the Great Jagras. Still, she was ready to help if this particular pack was braver than most.

"It's ready, meowster," Taeko whispered, hefting her drum-hammer in both paws.

Naruto drew the arrow, its shaft extending and securing into place with a subtle *click* at regular intervals as he pulled on the fletching. He focused his aim on the Jagras sentry, before releasing the oversized arrow, allowing it to sail through the air. The sword-like tip of the arrowhead punched through the sentry's skull, killing it quickly while getting the attention of its colleague.

The other sentry dropped its meal and roared, waking its packmates and its alpha before Naruto readied another arrow while backpedaling. This time, he charged chakra into the tip before letting the arrow loose, its head splitting into four projectiles that streaked into the charging mass of vicious reptiles, taking out four more Jagras with every shot. Before any of the minor Jagras could attack, Naruto rolled aside as the Great Jagras sped towards him, while firing one last shot from his bow at its inflated belly. At the same time, Taeko used her hammer to bat away several Jagras to give her master more breathing room to fire arrows. Ashi and her puppies quickly leaped through the air while spinning rapidly. Their clan's signature taijutsu attack "Gatsuga" turned the three of them into a trio of oversized drills that ground their victims to messy bits as they passed by. With much of the pack reduced by half, the remaining Jagras chose to flee, leaving their alpha behind.

The Great Jagras stood its ground, roaring at the genin team with fury. Ashi and her puppies surrounded the giant reptile and leaped into the air to perform another Gatsuga, tearing shallow gashes into the monster's scaly hide. With its attention divided between Ashi and the Season twins, Naruto tapped the jar on the bottom before loading another arrow into the bow; as he drew the bowstring, the armature squeezed the jar slightly, lightly coating the arrowhead with a red substance before letting it loose. The arrow penetrated deeper into the Great Jagras's hide, but not enough to cause too much internal bleeding.

Seeing her opportunity to enter the fray, Natsuki lowered herself to the ground, her Sharingan active as she locked onto her target. As she ran towards the Great Jagras, her hands flew through hand seals before ending in the tiger seal. "Katon: Suzume no Jutsu!" She released her hands from the seal, one of them wreathed in flames before pointing her open hand at the Great Jagras, and firing a small, winged rocket from her palm. The flaming projectile streaked through the air, before penetrating the Great Jagras's belly and exploding in its wound as a large fireball.

After recovering from the explosion, the Great Jagras turned to regard the Uchiha heiress with hate in its slitted, yellow eyes, before roaring with all the rage it could muster. In response, Natsuki ran in the opposite direction, with the Great Jagras barreling down upon her faster than a bloated creature had any right to be. As it galloped towards her on its belly, Naruto nocked an arrow into his bow, taking aim at a barrel ahead of their path; as soon as Natsuki passed the barrel, he released the arrow. The javelin-sized projectile streaked through the air, barely missing Natsuki's calf and punching through the wooden walls of the barrel, igniting the black powder. The resulting explosion knocked the Great Jagras off its feet and into a tree.

The Great Jagras hobbled back onto its feet, limping away on its bloated belly while dragging its feet. "Taeko, it's time!" Naruto barked, folding his bow and holstering it.

Taeko ran ahead of the Fanged Wyvern on all fours, and planted the disk in the Great Jagras's path, quickly pressing a button on top before running away. Naruto ran alongside the Great Jagras, readying a cylinder in each hand while pulling the pins with his teeth while squeezing the levers. As the escaping reptile ran over the disk, it froze in place as it was stunned with an electric shock, giving Naruto the opportunity to toss both cylinders at the prey; both exploded harmlessly, engulfing the Great Jagras's head in a cloud of pink smoke before it collapsed to the ground asleep.

As the Great Jagras slept away the effects of the small explosives, Team Eleven gathered around the creature with chains ready to drag it away. "Good," Naruto sighed, "Now, let's get this thing outta here before that Wyvern shows up and…"

"GUYS, WE HAVE INCOMING!" Natsuki shouted. Naruto and Ashi noticed her looking upwards, and followed her gaze to see a giant, beige-colored object diving towards them. The entire team scattered, escaping into the surrounding trees as the object crash-landed on the Great Jagras, killing it upon impact as it crushed and ripped off the unconscious monster's skull.

As he looked from behind his tree, Naruto saw that their invader was a large Flying Wyvern covered in dark, coppery scales with a coal-grey face, hind legs, and underbelly. Off-white wings that were large enough to carry its heavily-armored mass were covered in a ribbed membrane, with a splash of dark grey around its thumb talons. Teardrop-shaped scales dangled from the underside of the monster's neck and down its chest like a beard, halfway towards the tip of its long, thick tail, and barely jutting out from the heel of its digitigrade legs. Its face had a hybrid of both leonine and avian features, though its bloated, armored neck gave the impression of a draconic alpha lion. As it looked around the area, it made an almost squeaky wheezing sound like an emergency siren going off before finally issuing forth a loud, victorious roar that shook the genin team to their bones.

Naruto looked around the Flying Wyvern, trying to locate his teammates when he felt the earth trembling beneath his tree. A large, green creature burst out of the ground and into the clearing like hell just spit it back out, pulling itself out of its exit hole with a pair of humorously small arms that were tipped in two sharp talons. Massive hind legs stepped out from the hole, before a long, fat tail covered in spikes was pulled out, revealing the whole creature to be a Brute Wyvern. It had an almost bloated appearance, and it was covered all along its green, battle-scarred body with what looked like teeth. Its massive, tooth-covered chin gave the creature an underbite, and its upper jaw was covered in teeth as well. It surveyed the world with disproportionately small eyes, before settling on the Flying Wyvern that had invaded earlier; the challenging roar it issued forth sounded like a bomb going off.

The Brute Wyvern walked into the clearing, getting the flyer's attention. Both roared at each other, the former's muscles swelling and turning red from rage, while the Flying Wyvern's dangling scales began to glow with heat. The Violent charged its opponent, biting down on its neck, shaking off some of the Flying Wyvern's hot scales and causing them to explode upon contact with the ground around them and loosening its grip. Free of its opponent, the Flying Wyvern was about flee when the Angry Pickle grabbed it by the neck and pinned it to the ground, placing one of its large feet against the flyer's chest while trying to rip its throat out. The Flying Wyvern's scales heated up, forcing the Brute to release its grip in order to avoid swallowing a mouthful of explosions. However, neither monster got out of the explosion unscathed, as the Explosive Scale wyvern was also caught in the blast. As it attempted to flee, the Brute Wyvern had other plans, grabbing the Mad Bomber by the tail and slamming it to the floor and biting into its wing before wrenching it into an unnatural angle with a sickening wet snap.

With both invaders preoccupied with fighting each other, Naruto regarded Taeko with a serious expression. "Now's our chance, let's group up with Ashi and the twins, and then we get the hell outta here, dattebayo!"

"Why just them, meowster?" asked the Palico.

"'Cause I'm already here," came the voice of Natsuki from behind.

The three of them moved quietly through the woods as the battle between the rival invaders unfolded, with the Brute Wyvern clearly having the upper-hand. The odd explosive scale was thrown their way as they tried to evade the two monsters while keeping eyes open for Ashi. The remainder of Team Eleven quickly found her and the German Shepherds hiding away at an outcrop near the clearing; they were unable to move as the battle took place on the other side, giving them no opportunity to get away unseen. Besides that, they literally had her backs to the wall, as the cliff face to the Hokage Monument was right behind them.

Naruto unfolded his bow, before turning to face Natsuki. "You get Ashi and her puppies outta there," he whispered, as Taeko climbed onto his shoulder.

"Wait, what're you two gonna do?"

"Taeko and I are gonna distract them," Naruto answered, balancing the bow against his body, "We're gonna try to get their attention on us so that you can get them out. Meet us at the campfire, we'll try to join you when we can."

"Like hell you're gonna do this on your own," Natsuki retorted.

Naruto crossed his index and forefingers. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The genin-Palico duo disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and in their place were hundreds of Bunshin that filled the forest. Each one was accompanied by a Taeko Bunshin, and armed with bows and arrows.

"I can't handle this alone as a Hunter," one of the Bunshin said, testing the string of his bow.

"But as a Hunter and a Shinobi, I might be able to buy us a little time to run," finished another.

"Get ready to make a break for it, dattebayo," added a third Bunshin, loading an arrow into his bow, "The second we start firing, we're gonna be getting their attention on us. Use that time to get Ashi and the pups outta there; as soon as you gals are in the clear, we're gonna try to catch up."

Natsuki nodded, turning her attention to the task at hand. As she moved through cover, she watched as the two monsters fought for dominance, waiting for her opening to move in fast to rescue Ashi. At the same time, a team of five Naruto Bunshin ran into the clearing with bows ready to fire. A volley of arrows was loosed, splitting in midair to become twenty large arrows that peppered the invaders, focusing their attention on him. The Brute Wyvern and its opponent roared at them, the former rearing back its head before digging its tooth-lined chin into the ground to dig up a large rock, and flung it at the Naruto Bunshin team, dispelling all five of them in one go. The rest of the Bunshin Army ran out from the treeline, firing arrows at the rival invaders as soon as they moved within range; their movements were almost dancelike as they avoided getting hit by the Wyverns.

With the two monsters' attention diverted, Natsuki ran towards the outcrop, quickly closing in on Ashi's position. "C'mon! We need to get going!"

"But what about Naruto-kun?"

"He said he'll join us later!" she barked, "Right now we need to leave this area so that he has more time to run too!"

Ashi looked back at Natsuki, and nodded. She scooped up her puppies in both arms, and ran with the Uchiha heiress, moving through the woods to avoid being seen. Throughout the battle, they could see the number of Naruto and Taeko's bunshin gradually whittling down; five were caught in a tail swipe by the Brute Wyvern, before another ten were dispelled when it breathed dark purple flames crackling with red lightning around it. Another group was dispelled when the Bomber charged through a line of them. Despite the minimal damage their attacks had been doing and the losses they were taking, both of them succeeded in keeping the monsters' attention focused on them.

"Screw it!" Ashi shouted, her footfalls screeching to a halt. She carefully lowered her shivering puppies to the ground before turning to regard Natsuki. "We're not leaving without him!"

"You won't have to," replied a voice from behind, getting the genin team's attention, "He's got backup coming."

The battle was interrupted when tree roots burst from the ground, entangling the Mad Bomber and its opponent the Angry Pickle before pinning them both down. The two kunoichi found Yamato behind them, his hands clasped together in the 'hebi' seal, and his focus upon the two monsters Naruto was distracting. Due to the injuries it had sustained, the Mad Bomber was more easily restrained, but the same could not be said of the Pickle as it roared and thrashed around more viciously.

"You kids alright?" asked the jōnin.

"We're fine," Natsuki answered.

Whatever Yamato had to say was cut off when the Angry Pickle roared, directing everyone's attention towards it. Its eyes glowed red-hot with fury, its muscles swelling to a red color making its battle scars more prominent, and its skin turned dark-brown; but what made the Brute Wyvern even scarier was the mane of blood-red flames that began ignite around its face, and along the back of its neck up to the shoulders. As it roared in fury, the Angry Pickle forced its way to freedom, tearing away at the tree roots with no small amount of effort.

"A Savage Deviljho," Yamato groused, "As if things couldn't get any worse."

"Don't worry yourselves, I can handle it from here!" shouted a large, muscle-bound man as he charged into the clearing with a nodachi in hand, "I hunt Invaders for a living!"

…

(Naruto)

Naruto and Taeko leaped over the Angry Pickle's deep red fire, the rest of their Bunshin were dispelled. Too tired to fight back or even summon any more Bunshin, the ravenous Brute Wyvern walked up to the pair, with pure hate in its eyes. It reared its blazing head back, ready to scoop them both up in one big bite when a small, round object sailed toward its eye. Recognizing what the object was, Naruto and Taeko shielded their eyes before it exploded in a bright flash.

As his vision cleared, Naruto watched as the Brute Wyvern thrashed around, trying to regain its vision. He heard a familiar round of hearty laughter from behind him. "Biting off more than you can chew, boy?"

Turning to face the newcomer, Naruto was gobsmacked upon seeing his massive frame standing in front of him. "Augus-senpai?"

"You've done well surviving this long on your first try," assured the veteran Hunter, drawing his nodachi, "But you're still not ready to take on a Deviljho. Now get back, and let me show you how it's done, boy!"

"H-hai!" Naruto replied, quickly folded his bow and scooped Taeko up in his arm before running towards Yamato.

Augus charged the Deviljho, the monster regaining its vision just as the veteran Hunter slashed at its ankles with the blade of his nodachi reinforced with chakra. The Brute Wyvern roared in pain and fury, raising its leg to kick the veteran Hunter away with a quick sweep of its giant, taloned feet. Augus rolled away from the kick, ran up a tree and kicked off of its trunk, propelling him into the air, towards the Deviljho's spiked tail. A single, powerful stroke hacked off the tail, eliciting a roar of pain, before the Deviljho responded with a stomp that shook the ground, disorienting the older Hunter. As Augus recovered from the tremors, the Deviljho took the time to breathe in, unleashing a torrent of bloody red flames from its mouth that crackled with red lightning. Augus rolled away from the blast towards the Brute Wyvern; he grinned savagely as he swung his nodachi at one of the Deviljho's knees, the chakra-reinforced blade biting into the leg deep enough to hit an artery.

Watching as the Deviljho toppled on its own leg in pain, Naruto could not help but feel amazement at the work Augus did. The veteran Hunter wasn't done, as he charged the Deviljho and thrust his blade into the monster's neck before pulling it back out and running on top of the Brute Wyvern's neck, leaping high into the air. As he fell back to the ground, Augus's muscles flexed as he reinforced his nodachi's blade with chakra, cleaving through the Deviljho's neck in one powerful swing.

"Looks like I came too late," Augus sighed in slight disappointment, sheathing his blade, "Didn't have as much fun with him. Savage 'Jho's are always good fun, after all."

"Thanks for the help, senpai," Naruto replied.

Augus turned to leave, waving his hand nonchalantly at Naruto with a cordial smile on his face. "No problem, boy. Though when you're ready, come find me so that we can go hunting Elder Dragons together."

"I'll take you up on it one day."

As Augus set to work carving up the Deviljho, Naruto turned his attention to Yamato. "Are you kids all right?"

"Yeah, we made it out alive," answered Ashi, looking towards the remains of the Great Jagras, "Your prey on the other hand, wasn't so lucky."

"What were you thinking?" asked the jōnin, "Continuing on, even though you know a dangerous monster was out there? All of you could easily have been killed out here."

"It was my idea," Natsuki admitted, cutting Naruto off from a reply, "We went so deep into the forest, that by the time we found the Brute Wyvern's air hole, I said that we'd come too far to get back to you empty-handed. So we all agreed to finish the mission, then come back before it showed up; we just didn't see that other invader coming."

Yamato nodded in disappointment. "Naruto, you of all people should know the Guild's work is so dangerous that it'd be no surprise if Hunters come back from failed missions. There would've been no shame if you'd all run away, instead of continuing a suicide mission."

The entirety of Team Eleven hung their heads in shame. "That said, I've got to applaud you," Yamato continued, earning curious glances from the genin, "Between the three of you taking on the Great Jagras, and the unexpected intrusion of both Invaders, you've displayed a good amount of teamwork just to survive this ordeal. Overall, in spite of the unexpected circumstances that led your failure to meet the requirements of this exam, this team passes for its bravery and teamwork."

"Yeah!" Ashi cheered, pumping a fist into the air, "We did it!"

The puppies barked in joy, while Taeko danced in place. Naruto whooped and pumped his fist in the air, while Natsuki nodded in approval. Team Eleven had passed, and they were ready to accept missions.

…

[Great Hall, Konoha Hunter's Guild]

The tall, masculine form of the Konoha Guild Master reclined at the back of the Great Hall with a large cask of craft beer in a massive, four-fingered hand. His well-defined chest, which was covered in battle scars from fights against both Shinobi and monsters. The only articles of clothing he wore were a pair of loose pants that ballooned around calf-length black leather leg-warmers, a dark sash around his waist, a black bandana on his bald head, and a white coat with red lining. His namesake white mustache curved upwards and tapered to points like a crescent moon, contrasting against his slightly pointed Wyverian features.

Propped up against the wall within reach was a bisento with a flamboyant hamon on its curved blade. It had a leather-wrapped haft that terminated in a spherical pommel, and the blade was held in place with brass fittings, with brass langets secured onto the blade. He'd used this weapon on his hunts as a longsword specialist, taking advantage of its relatively light weight to complement his power.

Nearby was a set of hospital equipment that was active and attended to by Shinobi nurses that specialized in Wyverian patients. The EKG monitor attached to his chest showed a resting heart rate that bounced between 80 to 85 bpm, which was kept in check with the oxygen tank that went into his nostrils. In addition, he had an IV drip in his elbow attached to a large, hanging bag of saline solution that kept his body from dehydrating.

His amber eyes surveyed the Great Hall, watching as everyone went on with their lives eating, drinking, laughing━he could even see a few Shinobi in the mix, watching a sport on TV with some Hunters and celebrating the victory. It was the sort of relationship he and Hashirama wanted to see when they drafted the contract so long ago. The month-long fiasco Danzo had caused was a major step back in Shinobi-Hunter relations; ten years later, much of the tension had died down, allowing baby-steps forward to be taken. It was slow progress, but at least he could see the walk towards better relations. _If only that little monkey would let me wring his greedy little neck,_ he thought, _Long-term value my ass, that snot-nosed Shimura brat is more trouble than he's worth!_

As he took another swig of his drink, allowing the bitter flavor to rush his senses, Shirohige was left to his thoughts. He was brought out of his reverie when he noticed a familiar mop of sun-kissed hair walking towards him, with a grey palico in tow. Naruto hadn't been in the Guild as long as most of the Hunters in his branch, and his desire to become Shinobi had put off a good number of Hunter friends, but everybody respected his choice, and stayed on good terms. As he had a license with the Konoha Guild, the Uzumaki boy was still allowed to call him 'Pops' outside of any professional capacity. Something was different about the boy today; the way he walked spoke volumes to the old Wyverian as Naruto came to a stop in front of him.

"I heard about it from Augus," he said, leaning forward in his seat to make eye contact with Naruto, "You and your team did well; most Hunters at your level, let alone Shinobi, would've been killed on their first encounter with a Bazelgeuse and a Deviljho at the same time."

"I had good teammates, dattebayo," answered Naruto, looking back up at the Guild Master, "We got lucky when we were put together."

Shirohige snorted. "Lucky indeed…though I have a feeling that you're not here to see me about that. What's on your mind?"

For a few seconds, Naruto was silent in thought. "How do you know the Yondaime Hokage?"

The second the question was presented, all music in the Lodge had died down. The old Guild Master raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What brought that up?"

"Yesterday, I went looking around in a big old house," Naruto explained, "I found a suit of Hokage armor, and Rath-daggers in there. There were also lot of pictures of you and the Yondaime Hokage when he was little."

Shirohige cracked a smile, looking at Naruto with no small modicum of amusement on his weathered features. "I suppose you would've gone in at some point; I just didn't think you would do it so soon."

"So why do you know the Yondaime Hokage so well?"

{Play: "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens}

Sighing, the elder reclined in his seat. "I adopted Namikaze Minato," he began, taking a swig of his beer, "He was a half-Hunter, half-Shinobi orphan from the Second Shinobi World War I'd found after we'd defended the village from an Iwa attack; when things settled down, I finally found the chance to adopt him as my son."

"What was he like, dattebayo?" asked Naruto, sitting down in front of the Guild Master.

Shirohige chuckled in amusement, his eyes wistful as he thought of his adopted son. "Minato was a lot like you while he was growing up, in that wanted to become Hokage to change things for both the Shinobi and the Hunters. He was different from you in quite a few ways; he was more perceptive and focused, and he had a lot of talent, all of which helped him a lot in his ambitions. At the prime of his life, he had the drive and strength to get rich, become Hokage, and marry the love of his life in one go. Still didn't stop him from showing the Hunters a good time whenever he visited the Lodge━I still remember the last drinking contest he'd gotten into with Augus, which ended in a draw."

"What can you tell me about his wife?"

"Kushina was as strong as she was beautiful," said Shirohige, "Easily one of the most beautiful human women I've seen since Uzumaki Mito, to whom she's related. When she lost her home as a child, I gave her room and board in the Lodge a while before the Academy began. She didn't meet Minato until the first day of class, and from what I was told, it was a one-sided love-at-first-sight until he saved her from Kumogakure infiltrators. While she lived at the Lodge, she'd grown to be a beautiful person inside and out, and with the strength to become a Kunoichi of renown."

The Guild Master sat silently, joy on his wizened features as he thought of the good times he'd had with the Yondaime Hokage and his wife. It wasn't long until the old Wyverian's happiness sank into sadness. "I was there when they died," he said simply, "By the Sapphire Star, I miss them both."

There was a look of concern on Naruto's face as he leaned closer to the elder. "What happened?"

"While Kushina was giving birth, some dirtbag in a mask walked in and ruined everything," explained Shirohige, taking a swig of his beer, "Minato fought him off; but in the end, that asshole got what he wanted, which was releasing the Kyūbi no Yoko from his wife and letting it rampage in the village. When Minato came to me with that plan of his to seal the fox into you, Kushina and I begged him not to do it; I even offered to have him seal the damn thing into me instead. But no matter how hard we tried to convince him not to do it, he'd already made up his mind, and Kushina wound up helping him out. He asked me to gather the Hunters and get them to aid in the defense; he wanted me to see the day Hunters and Shinobi truly accepted each other as comrades."

"So why'd he pick me?" Naruto queried.

"Minato was the idealistic sort," answered Shirohige, "When I asked him why he'd do this, he told me that he didn't think it was fair to ask anyone else to sacrifice their children, if he wasn't willing to make that same sacrifice himself."

Naruto was silent, his jaw lolled open in disbelief at the implication.

"He did what he did because he had no choice," Shirohige confirmed, "Your father used you as a vessel for the fox in the hopes that you'd be seen as a hero."

…

 _ **A/N: And that ends the chapter.**_

 _ **BTW, to those of you who may or may not wonder why Naruto's not taking on the Bagel-goose and the Angry Pickle on his own, I will have to stop you right there: the training that Naruto underwent under the Moon Siblings give him the right to take on 5-star missions. The Bagel and Pickle are both considered 6- maybe 7-star monsters (in World, JhoJho and B-52 Dragon's missions are rated at 7 stars). At this point, he's not ready to take on either of them, much less shortly after a turf war.**_

 _ **If you have any requests for turf wars, let me know and I'll figure out where I can use it. Who knows? We may even have the long-awaited Deviljho vs. Rajang turf war in the future.**_

 _ **As usual, credit goes to NorthSouthGorem for the beta-work.**_

 _ **Review, would you kindly? And Merry Christmas to you all.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Translations/Cameos/References:**_

 _ **The currency exchange—based on the real-world exchange rate between the yen and the American dollar.**_

 _ **Natsuhime and Akihime━their names mean "Summer" and "Autumn" respectively.**_

 _ **Shirohige━none other than Whitebeard from "One Piece," arguably the most badass old man in the series.**_

 _ **Augus━another badass old man, this one from "Asura's Wrath."**_


	7. Armed and Ready

**_A/N: And now we're done with the latest chapter. Now we move onto the first serious arc of the story._**

 ** _Do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!_**

…

[Konoha Hunting Lodge]

Shirohige sat in his chair, watching the hustle and bustle of normal Hunter life going on before him. Most of what he saw was just people chowing down on professionally-made food, and quite a few drinking binges. A good amount of the relaxation he'd seen happened to overlap with business as Hunters enjoyed a warm meal or a hot bath. While many Hunters were just fine with reporting to a receptionist, some were willing to fork over a slightly larger cut of their hunts for the more personal touch that handlers provided. Because of this, he was able to hear snippets of conversations between the Hunters and their handlers.

"That's all we've got?!" asked one outraged Hunter, looking at the small chest of silvery coins on the table, with a few gold ones in the mix. Each coin was stamped with the four-point crest of the Guild on one side, with a different image on the reverse side and the coin's value engraved in the Old World script.

"Sadly," deadpanned his handler, pushing up her glasses.

"What the hell? The contract said 17,000 zenny for a Nargacuga!"

"The contract also said they wanted it _alive_!"

The Hunter groaned, cradling his forehead in his hands with self-anger. "Fair enough."

Chuckling to himself, Shirohige grinned in amusement at that particular Hunter's plight. Axton was most certainly a capable and ingenious Hunter, but his desire to get into the fight and make glorified 'trick kills' often cost him his wage. He was also stubborn in his decision to remain solely a Gunner-class Hunter, which made it harder for him and his poor handler to go to Astera.

The Guild Master's attention was quickly drawn to the Moon Siblings walking up to him with a weary expression on their faces. Shortly after he'd told Naruto of his circumstances a few days ago, the boy left without saying a word, so he sent them to stay with him for a bit, make sure he was fine. "How's Naruto doing?"

"He's fine, Pops," answered Mangetsu, "After what you told him, I guess he just needed time to think."

"If he's anything like Minato or Kushina, he'll bounce right back," Shirohige sighed, nodding in agreement.

"You really think it was a good idea to tell him what happened?" asked Mikazuki.

"There really wasn't any other choice," answered the old Guild Master, taking a swig of whiskey, "Once he found that house, and found those pictures, the desire to know the truth would've found him one way or another. If I kept quiet after that, that desire could destroy him; the best solution I could think of was to tell him, whether he was ready or not."

Mangetsu and Mikazuki sighed in resignation. "So what's he up to now?" asked Shirohige.

"His team is doing one of those glorified chores around town," answered Mikazuki, chuckling in amusement, "Though I have a feeling they're gonna be sent outside the village pretty soon; Naruto's got a License, which allows him to take Guild missions too."

"It's really good that he's got something to do now," added Mangetsu, "Might help him to process things better if he can take his mind off the revelations for a while."

"I dunno," replied the younger Shizuoka, her voice trailing in thought, "With that drive of his, he'll probably ask for a big mission soon."

"I remember you two were the same when you were younger," Shirohige added playfully, "You gave that receptionist a hard time until she gave you a harder mission. In fact, Mangetsu, if I recall correctly, you wanted to…"

"Uh, Sis?" Mangetsu asked, his brown skin flush with embarrassment, "Why don't you find a table while I go get us some food?"

Shirohige laughed in amusement as the Moon Siblings ran off. I wonder what the village would think of all the embarrassing stories I've got on Minato as a child…

…

[Konoha Central Park]

Naruto sat on a bench, carving a short branch with his camp knife into the shape of a blade. It'd been a good hour since he and his team had completed the last of several E-ranked missions, and he needed the catharsis. He'd done more than his fair share of menial tasks while under the Moon Siblings' tutelage as practice for his potential future as a Hunter, but these so-called 'missions' were glorified chores that included plumbing work and delivering fresh ingredients to an Akimichi tavern.

In addition, Naruto's Hunting License also allowed Team Eleven to take on Guild requests, much to his mild enjoyment; however, Yamato made sure that they undertook the fairly easy missions. These jobs entailed going into the wilderness for tasks as simple as culling the population of small prey monsters to fill the food stores, or harvesting a list of wild herbs for the Haruno Apothecary. Just a few days ago, they'd completed a request from Ino's florist shop for a few flowers that could only grow in the wilderness.

"Are you okay, meowster?" asked Taeko, looking on at her master in concern.

"I'm fine," he finally answered, pausing to inspect his wooden knife, "It's just that that's a lot of information to come across in such a short amount of time. First there's the fact that I'm carrying the fox, then I find out my own dad sealed it into me to save the village; I honestly don't know whether I should be mad, or proud that he did it."

"I was there the night when it attacked, nya," Taeko answered, "And while I don't like the way the villagers treated you afterwards, I do appreciate the fact that I got to live to see another day. Besides, if your dad didn't do what he did, I wouldn't be alive to meet you; and for that, I'm thankful to him."

"Thanks, Taeko," Naruto replied, sheathing his knife. Satisfied with its shape, he tested wooden knife's balance on the back of his hand, flipping it onto his palm and then tossing it into the air before catching it by the improvised grip.

"You getting ready to teach that kid something?" asked the Palico.

"I'm not gonna get him started on jutsu, dattebayo," replied her master, "Instead, I'm gonna teach him something else that's just as useful."

"There you are!" shouted a voice, "I was looking for you!"

Konohamaru ran towards the bench, carrying a heat-sealed package in his hands. As he came to a stop, Naruto noted that the younger boy was panting from running around. "I finally got something for you to try out!"

Naruto took the package in his hands gently, and pulled out a square box from within; he could feel its warmth on his fingertips as he opened it. What he saw were two kinds of gravy divided diagonally across the square in equal portions: one side was a tomato sauce with white onion slivers mixed in with shredded chicken, the other side was a clear gravy with egg whites mixed in with prawns and gai lan stumps. Underneath the clear gravy, he could make out the texture of fried rice mixed in with bits of scrambled eggs and green onions. "Onmyō chōhan?"

"It took me a few days to do it, but I finally did it," answered Konohamaru, "Burned it so many times, that my dad had to step in and help me; said I'd burn down the house if I kept doing it the way I did."

"Well at least you know how hard it is to cook, much less make your own traps, dattebayo," replied the genin, taking a spoon from the container. After sampling the tomato side of the fried rice, Naruto nodded in approval as he set down the bowl. "For that, I'm gonna show you something that you won't learn in the Academy; it won't be a jutsu, but it'll be plenty useful."

Konohamaru watched as Naruto sat up while picking up his wooden knife. "You still got that wooden kunai of yours?"

"Uh, yeah?" asked the younger boy.

"Good, now try to attack me with it," Naruto challenged, gripping onto his knife.

The younger boy stared incredulously at him. "You're serious?"

Naruto smirked, twirling the wooden knife around in his hand. "Very."

Konohamaru fumbled for the wooden kunai on the small of his back, scrambling into a stance. "Your funeral."

He charged Naruto with his wooden kunai, yelling, his arm over-extended for a heavy swing. Naruto quickly stepped into the slash, wrapping his free arm around Konohamaru's knife hand and twisting lightly before pressing the edge of his knife at the younger boy's throat. "Lesson one of the knife fight, quick movements help you more than power swings."

Releasing his grip on the younger boy, Naruto pushed his opponent back gently with his knuckles before settling into a stance. Konohamaru regained his bearings before rushing him again, attempting to slash and stab at him as fast as he could. After sidestepping another slash, Naruto parried Konohamaru's knife, spinning the two blades in one circle before tossing aside the Honorable Grandson's kunai. He then pulled the younger boy in with his knife in the reverse grip, ready to stab into his back. "Lesson two, don't keep your grip on your knife too tight, but not too loose either."

After releasing Konohamaru from his grapple, Naruto nodded towards the wooden kunai, silently telling the younger boy to pick up his weapon. As he slipped back into his stance, he took a moment to catch his breath, reining in his strength as best he could. Even before learning of his heritage, Naruto knew he was a lot stronger than the average child; lifting his first Hunter weapon without much trouble (or chakra) only reinforced that fact.

As the Honorable Grandson attacked with his kunai, Naruto avoided three clumsy swings before catching Konohamaru in the ankle with a reverse sweep. With his opponent down, Naruto knelt on the younger boy's chest, pinning down his wrist under one foot while holding his knife to his throat. "Lessons three and four," he finished, stepping off his opponent, "Footwork is key to survival, and don't be afraid to fight dirty."

The younger boy sat up, holding his wooden kunai in hand with a determined expression on his face. Naruto began the knife-fencing match with a quick swipe of his wooden knife to knock away the kunai before following with a counter-swing. Konohamaru backed away just in time for the slash to miss his nose by centimeters before countering with a quick slash, only for Naruto to change his grip, block the slash, and push the Honorable Grandson away. With his opponent staggered, Naruto pulled in Konohamaru by the shoulder, before pressing the tip of his blade into his shoulder. "Good reflexes," he said, smiling in approval as he let the younger boy go, "Remember, don't be afraid to use every other part of your body, and keep your grip flexible so that you're not predictable. Now let's take a break."

After falling down, Konohamaru sat up, taking deep breaths as he recuperated from the mock knife fight. "And those are the basic tips for surviving a knife fight, dattebayo," said the genin, "The good thing is that it'd also work with a kunai in a pinch."

"They don't teach this in the academy?" asked Konohamaru in disbelief.

"No, they put a lot of emphasis on taijutsu and kunai and shuriken-throwing, but that's about it for fighting without chakra," Naruto answered, "I guess they expect you to pick up the slack on that eventually. And that's one of the reasons I'm thankful I was trained by Hunters."

"This is too hard!" whined the younger boy.

"Believe it or not, he's actually going pretty _easy_ on you, nya," Taeko chided, "One of his teachers is so brutal she kicked a man in the shin, then in the balls, and then bit his ear off."

Konohamaru recoiled in panic, reflexively putting a hand over his ear. "So yeah, surviving a knife fight's always hard," Naruto admitted, tossing his wooden knife in the air, "There's no rules and it's vicious as hell; but if you get good enough at it, it'll give you an edge when you're fighting up close and personal. Though to be honest, I really wouldn't recommend a kunai for a proper knife fight, dattebayo━I mean, its edges _are_ capable of making shallow cuts, but the shape's just too specialized for throwing and stabbing, like a great, big arrowhead."

"What should I use?" queried Konohamaru.

"It all depends on what you want to do with your knife," Naruto replied, showing the Honorable Grandson his steel blade, "I didn't choose this one myself, but I got used to it. It's a drop point, so it's not as good at stabbing people like some knives, but it's good enough for everything you need to do in the campsite. It's also heavy and durable enough to survive whatever I throw at it, and the larger size gives me a little extra reach in a knife fight, so I can always count on it when I run out of ammo or my weapons break." He then sheathed his knife. "You? It's too early to see how you're gonna use that knife in a fight, but it looks to me like you're the type that likes to slash more. Keep up the sparring, and we'll know for sure; that, and the only way you get better is if we keep fencing, and you keep learning from why you lost."

"Well, I'm tired of losing," Konohamaru pouted, "Don't you have anything cooler to show me?"

"Look, I know how that feels, dattebayo," Naruto assured, "But believe me when I tell you that it's better that you lose to me now, than to die after your first knife fight. I've seen a lot of guys that're good at fighting with knives, and the best of them only have scars from being unlucky, _never_ from being careless."

The Honorable Grandson was silent, pondering what Naruto told him before standing up, with his wooden kunai in hand. "I'm ready."

…

[Hokage's Office]

Hiruzen reclined in his office, finishing off the remains of his bowl of fried rice while watching everything going on in his crystal ball. Ever since Naruto had challenged Konohamaru to cook something, the old Kage was dealing with fewer of his grandson's attempts on his life; though after seeing the younger boy getting slightly better at the art of knife-fighting, he would look over his shoulder a little more often. Granted, Konohamaru was still a novice at this point, but it was only a matter of time before he would be fencing with the boy himself.

Still, Naruto was teaching the boy something; while Hiruzen would've preferred that he stopped at the cooking project, the knife-fighting skills would train Konohamaru's reflexes, dexterity, and aggression later on when he went to the Academy. The many defeats that the younger boy had to endure only served to humble him, as well as teaching him to learn from his mistakes quickly.

The old Hokage's trained eyes studied Naruto's form while sparring with Konohamaru, watching as he effortlessly dodged and riposted every one of the latter's clumsier swings. He could see the style of both Moon Siblings in his movements: once in a while, Naruto would catch Konohamaru in grapple, followed by stabbing him while he was vulnerable much like Mangetsu would. Other times, he would set the younger boy up for devastating slashes with punches and kicks in the same way as Mikazuki. Formidable, but you're still leagues away from matching your teachers, or Asuma, Naruto.

The two boys settled down after a good five minutes of continuous sparring. In that time, though he was still taking a lot of hits, Konohamaru's reflexes had improved enough for him to fight back. "So why're you dead-set on having me teach you something cool?" asked Naruto.

"I wanna be Hokage," answered Konohamaru, in between breaths, "I wanna be the strongest one there is so that people can respect me."

"You _do_ realize that there's other ways of getting respect, dattebayo?" Naruto queried.

"It's the best way I know how," defended the younger boy, "When people look at me, they only know me because of grandpa, always calling me 'honorable grandson,' and not by my name. I want them to know me as more than just that, and being Hokage seemed like the best way to go about it."

Naruto smirked. "Well, you're not the only one that wants to be Hokage."

Konohamaru glanced up at the older boy in curiosity. Whatever he had to say was interrupted when a very familiar voice called out. "Honorable Grandson!"

The man who walked in on the sparring session sporting an indigo jumpsuit, his hitai-ate was worn on his bandana, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of small, round sunglasses. While his form was hidden under his simplistic attire, Hiruzen knew that Ebisu had a fairly slim profile consisting of wiry muscle from years on the field. He was also smart enough to be a valid teacher.

"I've finally found you!" barked the tutor, "What are you doing here with this hoodlum and his mangy fleabag?"

Taeko hissed angrily at the insult.

"We're right here, dattebayo!" Naruto shot back indignantly.

"You stay out of this, you half-Shinobi brat," the tutor fired back, "This is nothing that scumbags associated with the Hunter's Guild should concern themselves with!"

"Shut up, Ebisu-baka!" Konohamaru shouted, "I'm already learning something I wouldn't have picked up under you!"

The tutor turned his attention back to Konohamaru, almost pleading. "Honorable Grandson, this half-Hunter caveman here is only holding you back, teaching you things you won't even need! Don't you want to become Hokage the fast way?" Naruto snorted, getting Ebisu's attention. "Is there something funny, you little brute?"

"Yeah, _you're_ what's funny!" Naruto fired back, "You're so pathetic that you've resorted to lying to a little kid's face! You expect me to believe that you got to where you are now in just a few days? Are you serious?!"

"Well why don't you show me what you've got, brat!" Ebisu challenged.

Hiruzen watched as Naruto pulled a storage scroll from the small of his back, and unfurled it on the ground before looking through its contents. Upon finding the line he wanted, he pricked his finger and ran his blood across it, summoning a large, round shield and a training sword. Both were made of burned and oiled wood, with dents on their otherwise smooth surfaces and gravity seals inscribed on each.

"Are you such a coward that you'd need a shield to fight me?" Ebisu teased, pushing up his sunglasses.

"This is a training weapon I was taught to use before I learned to use anything else," Naruto explained, hefting the sword in his left hand and the shield in his right, "For a lot of Hunters, the sword and shield is the first weapon they learn before trying out others to see what fits. It doesn't do a lot of damage outright, but it's fast as hell, versatile, and it frees up a hand too."

The tutor scoffed. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"I have a bet for you, dattebayo," Naruto answered, tossing the sword in the air and catching it by the grip, "I beat you in combat with these basic weapons, and you have to ease up on the kid and on Hunters…I lose, then I'll give up being a Shinobi, and hand over my Hunting License."

Ebisu smirked confidently. "Actually, I won't have your stinking license; instead if you lose, you have to give me every zenny you make off your missions from the Guild. I'll see to it that you'll be penniless for the rest of your life!"

Sighing in exasperation, Hiruzen shook his head in disapproval. That was a big bet, because the Hunting License was proof you were associated with the Guild; not only did it serve as a permit to hunt or as a passport, but it gave the owner permission to take on international Guild missions. Given the exchange rate between the zenny and the ryō, Guild missions were _very_ lucrative, leading to some Shinobi retiring from active duty to join the Guild and eventually becoming Guild Knights. _I hope you have a plan, boy._

"Fine," answered Naruto, leaning the training sword against his leg to place his middle and index fingers together in a cross, "Let's do it."

Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke that engulfed the entire area. In his place stood no less than fifty Kage Bunshin on the battlefield, each one wielding a training sword and shield. It was almost chaos as the Bunshin army picked up their swords and readied their shields, ready to fight each other. Any semblance of disorder was immediately quelled when one of the Bunshin raised his sword, his voice was loud and commanding as he addressed the army. "All right guys, let's get it together!"

In response, the chatter between the Bunshin died down; their focus on their opponent. "I thought you said you were only going to use your sword and shield!" Ebisu admonished.

"Yeah, we did," one Naruto shouted, his stance making it clear he was the one in charge, "We didn't say we _weren't_ gonna use jutsu!" He then turned his attention to the rest of the clones. "Form ranks! Shield wall! Surround him!"

At his command, the Bunshin Army surrounded Ebisu, locking their shields together as they closed in on the jōnin. The tutor stood in place, quickly slipping into his fighting stance as the army cut off his escape on the ground. As he leaped over the shield wall, Ebisu flinched as Naruto vaulted over his army, catching the jōnin off-guard as he jumped higher than he did. Naruto swung his training sword down, forcing Ebisu to block at the last minute before he was sent back into the square. As the two of them landed, Naruto charged Ebisu with his shield raised, catching the elite jōnin in the middle of his hand seals and forcing him to dodge the backhand with his shield. This left him open for a strike to the side with the training sword, before getting punched several times in the head with the shield.

Taking several steps back, Naruto took a breath as Ebisu stood back up, disoriented from the beating he'd just taken. Seeing his opportunity to strike, Naruto finished the fight by running up to his opponent, and slamming the training sword onto Ebisu's forehead, eliciting a pained groan from the teacher. With his opponent down, Naruto sheathed his training sword, and dispelled his Bunshin, revealing a dumbfounded Konohamaru staring at what he'd just done.

"That was awesome!" exclaimed the younger boy, "With you as my teacher, I'll be Hokage in no time!"

"Don't be too sure about that, dattebayo," Naruto warned, "There's no such thing as a shortcut to being Hokage. That idiot over there? I'm guessing it took…what? Fifteen years for him to get to his level? If he'd been serious about beating me from the start, he would've won our fight with no problem.

"Meanwhile, I'm lucky—not just because I have Hunter blood in me, but because I had people that put a lot of time and care into teaching me, and that had my back since day one. Even then, it took a year and a half of survival training in the wilderness and another year of getting serious at the academy; I've gotten a lot stronger in that time, but I've still got a long ways to go before I become Hokage myself. I'm willing to put in the work to get it done, which is what you need to do if you want to beat me to the hat, dattebayo. You've got to work your butt off and pay your dues; you've gotta study harder, train harder, and not stop learning and growing."

Konohamaru stared at Naruto pensively for a few seconds before his expression changed to one of determination. "You think that's gonna scare me?" he asked, "Y'know what? I'm gonna work even harder than you so I can beat you at a knife fight, and then I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever!"

Naruto nodded in approval, "Good, then let's see who gets there first. Though you're gonna have a bit of a head start; I've made a promise to get strong enough to hunt an Elder Dragon first."

The younger boy stared in shock at the Naruto's declaration. Hiruzen had heard Naruto's ambition, and he knew that even Hunters had trouble with Elder Dragons. Such was their power that Senju Hashirama and his brother Tobirama, Uchiha Madara, Uzumaki Mito, and Shirohige all set aside their differences to fight one before founding Konoha shortly after. It was mutually agreed that short of a Bijū, the Elder Dragons were simply the most powerful and dangerous creatures alive.

"Do we have a bet?" Naruto asked, shaking Konohamaru out of his thoughts. His hand was extended for Konohamaru to shake.

"You're on," Konohamaru replied, shaking the hand.

"Keep up your cooking skills," Naruto added, turning to leave, "Impress me, and I'll show you something new."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you're impressed."

Hiruzen nodded in approval at the way his grandson had matured. "I have a feeling you'll grow in leaps and bounds after today, Konohamaru," he mused to himself.

…

[Unknown Location]

Fluorescent lights washed the entirety of the room, illuminating the steel-covered walls and the stark white ceramic tiles of the floor. The room itself was vast, with more than enough room for a pair of mobile autopsy tables to be placed in the center…though three or four was not out of the question. At a wall close to the door were several shelves of books, and a periodic table of elements, as well as a large x-ray light box. Nearby, a table with test tubes and beakers could be seen, as well as a microscope and several empty petri dishes.

Sitting at a desk near the autopsy tables that dominated the middle of the room was a fairly tall, pale-skinned woman with raven-colored hair done up in a bun with a chopstick. The curves under her buttoned-up lab coat and short black skirt were relatively modest for a woman in her forties, with a greater emphasis on her waist and legs. Underneath her smooth, snow-white skin, there was just enough fat on her body to obscure the dense, corded muscles of a trained fighter while still being easy on the eyes. Bright amber eyes behind a pair of small glasses scanned the tables while delicate and dexterous hands scribbled her observations, along with relevant drawings on a large notebook. Her face had streamlined, almost serpentine features that were contrasted with the purple eyeshadow that trailed slightly at the corners; overall, she looked like a human that had evolved from a species of white snake.

The subjects that she was studying were fresh cadavers of two different women, neither of whom would be missed; much easier to obtain than simply abducting people straight from their villages. In addition, their respective bounties would be enough to stretch the woman's scientific research even further.

The raven-haired woman to the scientist's left had tanned skin from a life in the sun that was pulled taught over a banana-shaped profile with subtle, aerodynamic curves. Her name was Kyūsaki, a Kunoichi gang leader from Sunagakure that was wanted for multiple counts of murder and double that in bribery and corruption charges. She was made into a nuke-nin after she was caught bribing several arms manufacturers with bags of dirty money; apparently, she had ambitions of undermining and usurping her own Kage. After her exposure to the public as a gangster, Kyūsaki and whatever loyalists she had were forced to flee their country, braving the native monsters for a place to lie low…eventually running to hide in Kusagakure. She was found and abducted from her own den.

To the scientist's right was Venus Evertide, a flaxen-haired former Huntress and bandit leader that was sleeping with Kyūsaki. Her body was slightly stockier as a result of her Hunter training and lineage, with more muscles and a slightly more generous bust than her lover. Venus was wanted by the Guild in the Old World for poaching in various villages, as well as several counts of homicide; in response, the Guild revoked her Hunting License and sent their Knights after her. She'd managed to lose her pursuers before stowing away on an airship; upon landing, she quickly hid in the Kusagakure wilderness, forming a gang of bandits that would merge with the remnants of Kyūsaki's gang.

"I know you're there, Kabuto," she said, briefly turning her attention back to her notes, "Come in."

The metal door to the autopsy room opened with a heavy jerk, allowing passage for a bespectacled young man with stark white hair. He wore purple and grey attire, and shivered slightly as his body acclimated to the sudden drop in temperature. "Otohime-sama, you called?"

"Come over here, and give me your observations," beckoned the older woman, waving Kabuto closer with her eyes still on her notes.

"To the naked eye, there's no outstanding differences in their anatomy," answered the younger man, pushing his glasses up, "To trained eyes, the differences are clear: the woman on the left is clearly a Kunoichi, judging by the chakra coils running through her system. The other is a Huntress, due to the denser muscles and bones."

"Good eye," complimented Otohime, turning her attention back to the subjects, "Now tell me what you know of the Hunters."

"Not much, except that they're mostly just muscle-headed brutes that rely heavily on technology," Kabuto answered, "In many ways, they're inferior to Shinobi."

Otohime nodded in assent. "I've never had a chance to fully study a Hunter's cadaver; as I was about to, that old monkey performed his raid on my lab. Inferior? Perhaps, but there's so much potential in what I see."

Raising an eyebrow, Kabuto studied the corpse of the Huntress. "Potential?"

"Most people I know of would believe otherwise, but the body of a Hunter is truly a magnificent work of art," replied Otohime, "Superior to your bog-standard human being in many ways, such as being strong enough to wield ridiculously heavy weapons without using chakra, and their bones are infused with a ceramic carbide compound. Their brain cases are also slightly larger to accommodate for the more sophisticated sensation suite, allowing them access to things like enhanced smell and hearing. Then there are the more subtle details, that only trained eyes such as ours can see." At this, Otohime pointed at a particular point on the Huntress. "Do you notice anything different?"

Kabuto craned in for a closer look. "I see a parallel circuit alongside the fibers of the entire nervous system that's also directly connected to the brain. If I didn't know any better, I'd say these extra circuits are chakra coils."

"And they're not," answered Otohime, earning a curious glance from her assistant, "At least, not in the way we know. A Shinobi can use jutsu because we have tenketsu which allow us to directly interface with our chakra coils, but Hunter chakra coils have none. I _did_ perform an experiment on the Huntress however, and the results were interesting."

"What have you learned?" Kabuto asked, sincerely interested.

Otohime smirked, indicating the crash cart that was right next to her. On top of it was a power supply connected to a pair of electrodes, and several measuring instruments. "Best to show you," she explained, indicating the only other device on the cart that was active, "This chakra detector is reading at .5 for the moment, which means there's no chakra fields beyond what we're producing. But if I flood the nervous system with electricity…"

The scientist turned up emission on the power supply 50% before picking up the electrodes and touching the tips against the copper and zinc spikes embedded in Venus's shoulders. As soon as the electrodes made contact with the spikes, the cadaver twitched as the electrical current flowed through her body. At the same time, the chakra detector's readings spiked at a deviation between 100 and 150.

Satisfied with her demonstration, Otohime removed the electrodes and set them back on the crash cart before turning to regard Kabuto for the first time. "As you can see, while the nerves are firing, the Hunters are surrounded by an invisible chakra field. I still haven't figured out what it does, but I'm still itching to find out…hence why I believe there's potential for the Hunters.

"And here is why I believe they're a work of art," Otohime continued, showing Kabuto her notes, "These augmentations were administered to the Hunters at the genetic level in such a way that they're all passed down, and would grow with their owner. Now imagine for a second that a Hunter and a Shinobi were to have a child with each other, and that child were taught to utilize this 'aura' of chakra and their own reserves in jutsu…think of the possibilities if the child also had a Kekkei Genkai."

"They could become like demigods," Kabuto finished, "Whoever designed these augmentations was indeed an artist at genetic engineering. So what now?"

"Now, we wait," answered Otohime, a sinister grin on her face, "We already have rare, but documented cases of Shinobi-Hunter hybrids running around, but there's still so much we don't know about the baseline Hunter. What are the full extent of their augmentations, and what are their limits? How robust are their chromosomes? So many questions I want answered with regards to them, and so little time. But right now, I want to find out what that aura is for; for that, we'll need to see about sending spies to observe them in action."

"I will see to it, milady."

Otohime nodded in approval. As she was about to turn back to her study, she snapped her fingers. "By the way Kabuto, how goes the other matters I had you look into?"

"Most of your investments are bearing fruit," Kabuto answered, "You won't be wanting for funds anytime soon."

"What about Umbrella?"

"Wesker and Birkin were becoming a liability, so I did them in before they became a problem," answered the lab assistant, "I had a look at their work, and found their experiments on reanimating the dead with viruses to be disgusting. All their work has been destroyed, and any samples and subjects they might have created have been cauterized thoroughly. And just to be safe, I killed every employee working at Umbrella, down to the lowliest of janitors and set their corpses on fire."

"Such a shame," replied the scientist, going back to her studies, "I thought they had promise."

"Don't worry, their work would have been far too volatile, even for you," Kabuto assured, "Their plague is uncontrollable, especially with no vaccine to counteract the virus."

"I'll take your word for it," she added, scribbling down on her notepad, "What about the preparations for the upcoming Chūnin Exams?"

Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "We're rehearsing everything down to the most minute details; it'll be harder without Kimimaro, but we can manage with the others. We are still not clear as to where it will take place, however."

"Keep me posted," Otohime replied, "Once we know which village it is this year, we can plan our next move better. The last thing I want to do is fight my dear old teacher and Shirohige at the same time."

"As you wish," answered Kabuto, bowing respectfully to his mistress before leaving her to study her cadavers.

…

[Hokage's Office, the next day]

Ashi stood in place with the rest of her team as they reported in to the Hokage. As much as she was frustrated with the idea of shinobi being sent to help Ino weed her own garden, the boons were twofold. The first was that the weeds they were asked to help pull out were plantains, which had medicinal value to the Guild in making healing potions, and the number of weeds they pulled was worth a reasonable amount of money in zenny as a bonus.

The other, more important boon was that they were free from the evil furball named 'Tora,' leaving some hapless team to suffer as they did whenever they were tasked with getting the repeat-offender. Apparently, Madam Shijimi's Felyne maid had quit after having to catch the rebellious cat for the twentieth time.

"Well, looks like you're good to go," Iruka said, finishing the report, "What next? We've got walking Inuzuka dogs, garbage duty…" At this, the teacher turned his attention to Naruto. "Cooking for an Akimichi restaurant?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Ashi saw Naruto pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing in exasperation. Just a few days ago, Team Eleven had had the misfortune of working for one such restaurant, when one of the line cooks called in sick. Said restaurant had a contract with a bodybuilder camp, which swamped the restaurant after a long day of hard training and quickly filled every seat. Due to the high-calorie demands of a bodybuilder's diet, and their requirements for high-protein foods, it was a test of stamina to cook for the entire camp in a timely manner. Because he had the most cooking experience in the wild, Naruto was pressed into working as a roast chef; luckily, he had Taeko to assist him as a grill chef. Meanwhile, Ashi and Natsuki had to fill in for waiters that were recently fired for drinking on the job one too many times while the executive chef interviewed applicants.

In the end, they were fully compensated for working all seven hours thirty minutes of the day, and that it was a D-ranked mission due to the hazards in the kitchen and how busy it was. Still, they did their best to avoid such missions like the plague for fear of them having a contract with another bodybuilder camp.

"No way!" Naruto cried, "I'm tired of having to do all these little jobs around the village, dattebayo!"

"Naruto, behave yourself!" Iruka chided, "These missions are meant to be for shinobi of your level!"

"It's all right Iruka, everyone has to be ready to do a higher-ranked mission at some point," assured the Hokage, "But tell me Yamato, do you think your team is ready for a challenge?"

The jōnin in question nodded confidently. "I think so, it's about time these kids get to see the world."

Ashi was relieved that Yamato vouched for them…she could feel the excitement welling up in the hopes that her team would be getting a more challenging mission. "Very well then, I may have mission available for…"

Whatever the Hokage had to say was interrupted when a pigeon flew into the room with a scroll attached to its leg. The bird landed in front of the old man, letting him pull off the scroll and unfurl it. "Well, it seems you're in luck," mused the Hokage, reading the contents, "It turns out that a client had lied to Team Seven about the difficulty of the mission they were sent on, because they were ambushed by a pair of nuke-nin known as the Oni Kyōdai. The client had to fess up about what was really going on, and when offered the chance to leave, Sasuke chose to continue the mission."

"So your brother is capable of thinking of other people," mused Ashi, almost surprised at what she'd heard.

"More like he sees it as an opportunity to get stronger faster," Natsuki deadpanned.

"They're calling in an extra team for reinforcements," continued the Hokage, "You kids up for it?"

"You know it!" Naruto answered, "Anything to get us out of the village!"

"Then go home and make your preparations, you're leaving today," ordered the Hokage, "Take care out there; the Oni Kyōdai are chūnin, which means this mission might be more than you can handle." He then turned his attention to Naruto. "Especially you, Naruto."

"I know," replied the boy in question, nodding in assent, "I've got one more place to visit before we leave."

…

[Konoha Hunting Lodge, Great Hall]

"Sandman, Wekapipo, and Poco Loco are in the lead, with Avdol and Stroheim trailing behind!" called out an announcer from the TV covering a chariot race from the Old World, "Gyro Zeppeli and Johnny Joestar have gained the lead and…what's this? Diego Brando has caught up, and he's neck in neck with Gyro and Johnny!"

Hunters and several Shinobi were gathered around the television set at the bar, eagerly watching as the race progressed. A number of them had tickets in their hands, identifying which racer they were betting on. "It's gonna be close!" the announcer declared, "And Diego Brando wins by a close shave! After a slow start in this segment, Diego has managed to grasp victory at the last minute! What a race!"

Naruto and his team navigated the bodies of Hunters and Shinobi that were celebrating the results of the race. He could hear many of them talking shop with their handlers over a good meal and a stiff drink. Off the corner of his eye, Ashi was trembling with excitement as they walked towards the back of the Great Hall. Given the respect the Inuzuka Clan had for the Guild, it was no surprise that she would be fangirling over a chance to meet Pops.

At the other end of the spectrum, Natsuki was more subdued; if she were nervous, she did very little to show it. The Uchiha Clan were big opponents of the Guild, having some of the biggest voices in favor of removing the Hunters' presence from the Shinobi Nations. Luckily for her, most of the Hunters paid her no heed, finding their current business more interesting than an Uchiha girl walking the Great Hall.

Lastly, Yamato studied the architecture of the Great Hall as he carefully walked through the crowds. There was no doubt in Naruto's mind that he was studying how the Shodaime Hokage managed to build it. Given his hobby, he was probably in heaven.

It wasn't long until the four of them walked into the presence of old Shirohige. "Good to see you, Naruto."

"Likewise, Pops," Naruto greeted back, "Sorry for not coming back for a while, dattebayo. I just needed some time to think."

The old Guild Master let out an understanding 'hn' before turning his attention to Ashi and Natsuki. "And these must be your teammates?"

"Uh…I-I-Inuzuka Ashi," stammered Ashi, bowing respectfully "Heiress of the Inuzuka clan. These are my ninken Akihime and Natsuhime." The Spring and Winter twins barked in unison.

"Uchiha Natsuki," greeted the Uchiha heiress.

Shirohige nodded in approval. "The Inuzuka clan are the best at what they do; you'll fit in just fine, girl." He then focused his attention to Natsuki. "As for you, I've had a rocky relationship with your clan since I met Uchiha Madara during the Clan Wars; though there _were_ a few that have earned my respect, Uchiha Shisui being one of them. In either case, you and your brother have my condolences…it really shouldn't have happened to anyone."

"Thank-you."

The titanic Wyverian heaved a sigh as he reclined in his chair. "Hiruzen sent me a pigeon telling me what's going on while you were preparing; I knew you kids would get that mission sooner or later. There's nothing much I can say, on the matter…all I ask is that you take care of each other. The world is hard on everyone, and it shows no mercy to youngsters like yourselves━lean on each other, and you'll go far."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "We'll be careful, Pops."

"They'll be in good hands, Shirohige-sama," Yamato added, bowing respectfully.

"See to it," replied Shirohige, as the team left, "Make Hashirama proud that you have his powers, tree-boy!"

…

[Hi no Kuni, Southern Coast]

Team Seven settled down at the beach with a boatman nearby, waiting for their reinforcements to arrive. Kakashi kept an eye out for potential intruders, while his genin team kept a close watch on their client Tazuna. Sasuke noted that in spite of his lackadaisical attitude in life, the sleepy-eyed cyclops of a jōnin was more competent than he appeared; and it showed in their graduation exams, which they'd miraculously passed.

There were no fangirl antics from either Ami or Sakura; for which Sasuke was grateful, as it was too serious of a situation for that. Although he wished that they would be a little braver, so that he wouldn't have to do all the work for them. As he looked towards the client, he could not help but wonder who he'd pissed off to have mercenaries like the Demon Brothers sent after him.

The sound of a twig snapping alerted Team Seven, setting them on edge until a Shinobi wearing a happuri walked towards the docks. His team included his sister, the dog-girl and the muscle-headed dunce she liked so much, as well as their animal partners. "You can relax," Kakashi reassured the client, "They're our reinforcements. Team Seven, I'd like you to meet my colleague Yamato…and I'm sure you're all familiar with the members of Team Eleven."

"Pleased to meet you," greeted the jōnin.

The client scoffed. "Great, more kids—and they've got pets too."

"I really wouldn't underestimate my team," Yamato defended, "They're very good at what they do." He then indicated the only boy in the team. "And Naruto here is a trained and licensed Hunter."

"Is he now?" Tazuna asked, looking at the Shinobi in question with a good amount of interest, "How good of a shot are you, boy?"

"I'd say I'm a fairly decent shot with bowguns," Naruto replied, "Though I prefer to take the fight up close and personal, dattebayo."

The bridge builder nodded in approval. "Well, let's get going then. You guys will need to wait for the boat to come back."

"There's no need for that," Yamato declared. His hands flew through a set of hand seals before clasping together. Tree roots shot from the ground, forming a streamlined shape with overlapping planks that terminated in a flat back before slithering back into the ground. After quickly building his boat, he extruded a piece of wood from his shoulder that straightened out and widened near the end. "Now we can save time."

"All right then, problem solved," said the client, "Follow us closely, but be careful; larger groups tend to attract bigger monsters."

Both boats were pushed into the sea, with Yamato catching up quite well with the client's boatman. There was nothing said between the two teams as they kept an eye open for any more surprises. According to Fumi, Piscine Wyverns and Leviathans ruled the open sea in much the same way Rathalos ruled the sky; with the monsters' natural resistance against jutsu, they were a sitting duck if either type of monster decided to attack them. Because of this, anybody that had stored up chakra had to disperse it beforehand so as to avoid being detected as easily by monsters with a taste for Shinobi.

"I think it's about time you explained yourself, Tazuna," said Kakashi, breaking the silence, "We were attacked by a pair of chūnin Shinobi, and had to call in reinforcements for safety; you at least owe us answers as to who is trying to kill you."

Tazuna considered his answer before letting out a heavy sigh. "Any of you ever heard of Gato?"

"As in the CEO of Gato Industries?" asked Yamato, "Who hasn't? The man is about as bad as they come."

"He's got a stranglehold on Nami no Kuni," answered Tazuna, "When he first came to our land, he'd promised more business and a stronger economy for us. What happened instead was he started buying up all of the shipping lanes and creating a monopoly, letting him do as he sees fit. Increased taxes, extortions, bribery, misappropriated funds, you name it, he's done it…and in the process, he's turned our island nation into a slum. We can't stand up against him because he's got an army of hoodlums on his payroll; a good number of whom are lawbreakers and poachers from the Old World that are on the run from Guild Knights."

"Which explains why you only have enough finances to order a C-rank mission," Kakashi noted, "But where do you fit into this picture?"

"The bridge I'm building will connect Nami no Kuni to Hi no Kuni," explained Tazuna, "My way of giving Gato the finger, if you will. It'd totally break his monopoly on trading."

"So that you won't have to depend on Gato's merchant fleet to get your necessities," finished Yamato, "Whatever power he'd have on your home would slip, while also threatening his income. No wonder you're marked for death."

Tazuna nodded. "I'm afraid I don't have enough money to pay you back right now, but I swear to you that you'll all be compensated with interest as soon as Nami no Kuni gets back on her feet. Fail, and not only will you be hated by Nami, but my grandson will curse the name of Konoha with his dying breath."

"Looks like we don't have a choice in the matter, senpai," said Yamato.

"No it doesn't," added Kakashi.

The rest of the boat ride was silent as the two teams neared the beach of Nami no Kuni; as soon as they reached the docks, Teams Seven and Eleven disembarked. "Take care, Tazuna," said the boatman, "You're our only hope."

"You too, Shokichi," answered Tazuna.

The boatman left the dock, leaving the bridge builder and his bodyguards to walk through the wilderness. Sasuke watched as Naruto loaded a large rock into his forearm-mounted crossbow, while his Palico readied her hammer. Everyone's mission was very simple: to protect the client…a job that was made even harder for the dunce and his cat because they also to deal with potential monster attacks. The forest of Nami no Kuni was serene, just the light breeze rushing through the trees; this did not assure the two Shinobi teams as they reflexively reached for their weapons. When not even birds could be heard, there was a chance that an Elder Dragon was in the area as all animals would have left in the presence of one.

The tense silence was broken when a nearby bush rustled, prompting Naruto to quickly aim his crossbow, and fire the rock at it. A loud thud was heard as it hit something against a tree. "What the hell are you doing Naruto-baka!?" shouted Sakura.

"I heard something in those bushes," Naruto replied, loading another rock into his crossbow. He kept his crossbow level at the bush, ready to let another rock loose as Kakashi followed him. The one-eyed jōnin pushed a branch aside, allowing both of them to find something Sasuke couldn't make out.

"Yeah, you got _something_ all right," Kakashi groused.

"Well, at least we know what we're having for dinner tonight," Naruto added, reaching into the bush. As he stood back up, Sasuke saw that he was holding a white rabbit by the back of its neck, its skull damaged from getting hit with the rock.

"What the hell?!" Ami screamed, "Are you so cruel that you'd kill a rabbit just like that?!"

"I stayed in the wilderness a lot, so yeah I kill rabbits for dinner," said Naruto bluntly, preparing a storage scroll to seal the rabbit away, "At least I'm not letting this one go to waste."

Sasuke face-palmed as the meat-headed dunce sealed away the rabbit for later. Something's wrong with this picture, but I can't put my finger on it…

The Uchiha heir was brought out of his thoughts when he heard something coming towards them. "EVERYBODY DUCK!" Kakashi shouted.

On command, everyone took to the ground as a massive object flew over them, shortly before three distant explosions cracked the air. A wooden barrier sprouted from underground, shielding the group as something rained down upon them at high speed. When the rain of projectiles had subsided, the wooden barrier opened up, allowing Teams Seven and Eleven to scan the surrounding area.

The first thing they spotted was a man standing on the grip of a massive blade that was embedded in the trunk of a tree. He was shirtless, wearing only pair of camouflage arm and leg warmers, and a striped pair of dirty gray pants. His face was hidden behind a cloth mask that hid the bottom of his face, and he wore the hitai-ate of a Kirigakure shinobi.

"I see you've missed your mark," said a female voice strutting out of the trees. She wore a very large leather hat over fiery red hair, and carried a pair of small, smoking weapons in her delicate hands. Smooth skin, generous bust, and slender hourglass figure was exposed for the world to see; whatever sense of modesty she had was covered up by a tight black leather pants and stiletto boots, a topless bra, and a frilly white sleeves.

"Like you fared any better, Fortune," the Kiri shinobi shot back, before turning his attention back to the group of shinobi below him, "In any case, it looks like we now know why the Demon Brothers never came back; they were dealing with a jōnin of Hatake Kakashi's caliber."

"Momochi Zabuza, and Miss Fortune," Kakashi muttered, "Of all the luck, we had to run into you two."

"You know them?" asked Sasuke.

"Momochi Zabuza, former ANBU of Kirigakure," Yamato answered for him, "Better known as the 'Kirigakure no Kijin' for his slaughter of an entire graduating class of genin after failing his own graduation exam. His partner is Sarah Fortune, also known as 'Miss Fortune,' an infamous pirate and bounty hunter from the Old World; she's an outlaw that doesn't hunt monsters, but she's excellent at hunting _people_."

"Well, someone's been doing their homework," drawled Miss Fortune, twirling her small weapons in her finger, "I have no idea who you are, but that handsome cyclops over there must be Sharingan no Kakashi. Anyway, we're here for the bridge builder; nobody else needs to get hurt."

"Or don't," Zabuza added, "More fun for me that way."

"Sorry to disappoint, but we've got a lot invested in this mission," Kakashi replied, "Besides, I've never failed a mission before, and I don't plan on starting now."

Zabuza scoffed in amusement. "That makes two of us. Get ready, Fortune."

The seductive smile Miss Fortune wore widened as she tightened her grip on her smaller weapons. "Honey, I'm always ready."

As Miss Fortune sauntered back into the forest, a thickening veil of fog slowly rolled in, allowing her to disappear into it. "Manji Formation!" Kakashi commanded, revealing his hidden eye, "Protect the client!"

"Team Eleven, reinforce them!" Yamato added.

On command, Team Seven formed the core of Tazuna's defense, surrounding him with kunai drawn and little in the way of an opening. Team Eleven formed the outer perimeter, helping to plug up holes in the defenses. Out the corner of his eye, Sasuke could see Naruto unfurling his storage scroll, his hand drifting over several lines of text, his Palico tightening the grip on her hammer. His sister activated her Sharingan and clenched her hands rhythmically, preparing to cast a jutsu, while the Inuzuka girl and her pups kept vigil at the first sign of movement.

Wicked cackling permeated the thick fog as Zabuza taunted his prey. "Eight points," he began, his voice echoing through the woods, "Heart, lungs, spine, subclavian artery, jugular, larynx, kidneys, brain…eight significant kill zones on the body. I wonder which one Fortune and I'll hit first…"

Sasuke could feel his body trembling in fear as he tried to locate his target. His grip on his kunai began to slacken as terror overtook his senses.

"Snap out of it, nii-chan!" Natsuki shouted, "It was my job to protect you that day, and it's still my job to protect you."

"This eyebrowless freak wants to turn this into a hunt?" Naruto muttered, his hand drifting closer to the line on his scroll, "Then that makes him the prey, dattebayo."

"Not if I'm hunting you first!" Zabuza taunted, his voice clear and behind the perimeter. Sasuke turned to see the enemy bringing his blade down on Tazuna.

"Tazuna, get down!" shouted Naruto. The 'poof' of a stored item being summoned cracked through the air. Sasuke watched as Naruto swung his summoned weapon upwards clashing with Zabuza's greatsword, deflecting and parrying the blade mid-swing. It was a massive hunk of bone sharpened on one side, with teeth along its spine, giving it the appearance of a jawbone. The bone blade was fastened to a mechanical, steel bolster with a knuckle guard and a long, two-handed, leather-wrapped grip. The crest of the Guild was engraved on the bolster for all to see.

Whatever Zabuza had to say was cut off as the whiskered genin recovered from his parry and brought the blade down and into his shoulder, stopping midway towards his rib cage. The nuke-nin lost color, quickly turning transparent before disappearing in an explosive splash of water. Naruto looked through the mist for his target, only to be stabbed in the shoulder with a single-edged kunai by Zabuza leaping in from the mist. Before his body hit the ground, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke before the titanic bone blade cleaved Zabuza in twain and turning him into another puddle of water. As the doppelgänger was dispelled, the nuke-nin materialized next to Naruto, his new target was unable to react quickly enough to parry, his own steel greatsword bearing down upon Naruto until tendrils burst from the ground, impaling him and revealing him to be another Mizu Bunshin.

"Impressive strength, boy," Zabuza noted, his voice an echo, "Judging by the fact that you're using Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and you can handle a Guild-standard Jawblade without using chakra, I'd have to say you're one of those half-Shinobi, half-Hunters I've heard about…Rangers, right?"

"What about it?" Naruto asked.

"Well aren't you a feisty one?" Fortune teased, her voice echoing from the fog.

"Naruto, get back in formation and protect the client," Kakashi ordered, "Yamato and I have this."

"Got it!"

"Looks like I'll have to step in," Fortune said, "Now which of you boys and girls is getting my love taps first…?"

"Either way, we need to take care of the bodyguards, Fortune," Zabuza groused, "We'll go on your first shot."

The Konoha Shinobi teams remained rooted in place, waiting for the next move. Natsuki slowly flew through hand seals, preparing a good amount of chakra for one of her unique jutsu; Ashi and her pups snarled at the mist, trying to threaten the elite duo. At the same time, Naruto tightened his grip on the jaw-sword, prepared to fight back if necessary. Sasuke steeled his nerves while gripping onto his kunai tightly. Like I'm going to let a muscle-headed brute like him show me up, he thought.

The first shot rang out, but before anyone could react, a large, thick wooden wall sprouted from the ground to shield Tazuna; part of the barrier splintered before a second shot rang out, grazing Yamato in the shoulder. In response, Yamato flew through hand seals, sending a line of sharpened tendrils out into the mist, his obscured vision preventing him from scoring a definitive hit.

Zabuza leaped through the mist, bringing his blade down on the wooden pillar, cleaving midway through the hollow log in one pass. Naruto swung the face of his blade into the nuke-nin's side, forcing him to let go of his greatsword to duck under the bone blade, quickly drawing a forked, single-edged kunai of his own. As he recovered from his overextended swing, Zabuza shifted his weight to stab at Naruto's armpit. Sasuke intercepted him, quickly slashing Zabuza across the wrist, while Taeko bashed at his head with her hammer. His body vanished in an explosion of water that drenched both genin and the Palico. Kakashi moved in with a kunai to assist, his body dissolved into a puddle of water when a hole was punched through his head. Zabuza reappeared to break his greatsword free of the hollow log with a heavy jerk, cleaving through Yamato's shoulder in one pass, only for his opponent to turn into a wooden sculpture that fired sharpened tendrils at him.

Flying quickly through her hand seals, Natsuki finished the sequence for one of her unique jutsu. "Katon: Kagesuzume no Jutsu!" She created a single rocket that flew from her hands, before splitting into at least twenty smaller rockets that trailed after an unseen opponent. As Zabuza landed, he waited for the rockets to come closer before bringing his sword up to block the 'sparrows' with the face of the blade, straining as each one exploded on his sword. He quickly reached off to the side with his offhand to catch Kakashi by the wrist, followed by throwing him over the shoulder and into the mist, the sound of splashing water could be heard as the one-eyed jōnin landed on the surface of a large puddle. Suspicion quickly turned into horror as an amorphous bubble of water formed around Kakashi, with Zabuza rising out of the puddle with a hand on its surface.

"Senpai!" Yamato cried, quickly flying through hand seals to sprout tendrils from the ground. His attempt to assist was cut off when another shot rang out, this one flying faster than the last ones. Out of reflex, he quickly formed a thickened wall of wood to intercept the projectile while trying to avoid the shot. A veritable firestorm of superheated metal pellets punched through the barrier in waves, preventing Yamato from moving.

"Focus, dear!" Fortune called from the mist, "It's rude to ignore your date!"

"That's two down, six to go," Zabuza taunted, turning his attention to Naruto, "Nothing my Mizu Bunshin can't handle."

The Bunshin in question leered at his potential victims, fingering the grip of its greatsword as it stalked towards the genin. He charged through them in a quick burst of speed, slugging Naruto across the face with a haymaker and kicking aside Ami and Sakura before bringing its massive blade down on the hollow stump that protected Tazuna. It was dispelled mid-swing when Ashi tackled into its arms, followed by a pair of gold and black streaks lancing through its torso. "We can't keep this up!" Ashi shouted, as another Mizu Bunshin formed, "We need to end this now!"

"What we need is to take down that eyebrow-less freak!" Naruto declared, planting the tip of his jawbone sword into the ground to pull a small bottle filled with a green liquid. He popped the cork with his teeth before downing it in one gulp.

"What about Yamato-sensei?" asked Ashi, as more Mizu Bunshin were formed from the puddle.

"He needs to keep his focus on that red-headed bimbo," Natsuki answered, "The sooner we deal with that guy and his mist, the sooner we can focus on her."

"I have just the thing," Sasuke added, pulling out a massive blade from his satchel, "It's time we fight back."

"Ashi and I'll be your frontliners," Naruto began, while Taeko clenched onto her hammer, "You two will support us while we try to create an opening for you."

Sasuke unfolded the ringed blade, unveiling three extra blades that locked in place at equidistant points, turning it into a large shuriken while Natsuki quickly flew through hand seals. Naruto and Ashi stood at the ready with their animal partners as the former created a number of claymore-wielding Bunshin. At the other end, Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin army readied themselves for a melee, hefting their greatswords in a staggered formation to minimize the odds of friendly fire.

The two sides charged, the Zabuza and Naruto doppelgängers clashed at the same time, dispelling the first wave of attackers. Both sides wielded weapons of roughly equal strength, but as the melee dragged on, the difference between the two armies were revealed. While Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin had a good amount of their creator's skill and experience, Naruto's Kage Bunshin had quantity on their side; for very Mizu Bunshin taken down, ten Kage Bunshin were dispelled. In addition to their larger numbers, Naruto's Kage Bunshin were further supported by Ashi and her dogs, as well as Taeko, adding more momentum to their counterattack as the Mizu Bunshin were dispelled faster than they could be created. At the same time, high-speed projectiles streaked from the mist, dispersing two Kage Bunshin with every shot.

Seeing her opportunity to act, Natsuki finished her sequence of hand seals before clapping her hands together in the 'tora' seal. "Katon: Torikago no Jutsu!" With her jutsu complete, a pillar of fire erupted from the ground, surrounding the combatants in a massive ring of flames. Every Bunshin was immediately dispelled, leaving only the real shinobi in the area, along with Miss Fortune, who was quickly tangled in a writhing mass of roots as she tried to escape.

"Hurry up, nii-chan!" Natsuki shouted, quickly flying through another sequence of hand seals, "I can't hold the cage like this for long!"

Sasuke hurled the Fūma Shuriken at Zabuza, while Taeko threw a smaller, but still fairly large shuriken from a different direction. The nuke-nin allowed the smaller shuriken to fly past his back, before effortlessly catching the larger one with one hand. "You kids are such amateur-!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Zabuza saw a large rocket of flame streaking towards him. His effort to block the jutsu with the shuriken was interrupted when he saw Naruto off to the side, swinging his greatsword just far enough away to decapitate him without harming Kakashi. On the other side, he saw the Inuzuka girl and her puppies performing their clan's trademark jutsu, aiming for his legs. With no other alternative, Zabuza released his jutsu, freeing Kakashi from the bubble just in time for the wall of flames to die out.

"Stay back, everyone!" declared the one-eyed jōnin, "I've got this!"

The two jōnin engaged each other in close-quarters combat, fighting with their kunai as they parried each other's blows. Zabuza kicked Kakashi away, creating enough clearance to sheath his kunai in favor of a two-handed grip and swinging the massive blade across his opponent's neck. The Copycat Shinobi disappeared in an explosion of water as a pair of shuriken sailed through the air towards the nuke-nin, who deflected both projectiles with the strong of his sword before bringing it back down in an attempt to cleave through his opponent's shoulder. Kakashi brought his kunai up to block the strike, struggling to hold on before the two of them broke off from the grapple, sheathing their weapons as they recovered a good distance from each other before simultaneously flying through hand seals.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"

A pair of serpentine forms emerged from the water, terminating in a pair of dragon heads as they coiled around each other in a fight for dominance. The two dragons smashed into each other, dispersing at the same time in a splash of water that rained on both fighters. Kakashi and Zabuza stared each other down as they went through another sequence of hand seals in perfect synchronization.

"Your fate is sealed!" They both said at the same time. Zabuza flinched as Kakashi repeated those words. His eyes were wide in shock and confusion as he glared at his opponent.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

A ring of water formed from behind the silver-haired shinobi like a halo before exploding outward in a torrent. The pillar of water engulfed his opponent with the force of a tsunami, tossing him around like a rag doll while smashing him against a few trees in the process. As the jutsu died down, the water drained away, revealing a ragged Zabuza, barely able to prop himself up against a large tree. His moment of respite was short-lived when a kunai penetrated each of his shoulders and thighs, eliciting a roar of pain.

"Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi declared, a kunai held in the reverse grip, "Your reign as the Kirigakure no Kijin has come to an end!"

Zabuza glared hatefully at Kakashi as he prepared to swing his kunai into his neck. Before the latter could follow through with his attempt to decapitate the nuke-nin, a pair of needles streaked through the air, embedding into both Zabuza and Miss Fortune's necks. After a few seconds, both outlaws' heads hung to the ground, their eyes rolled up in death.

"Thanks for your help," called a voice from the trees, "I wasn't sure I could take either of them on." The effeminate figure that landed from the treetops was clad in baggy green clothes that obscured their gender along with a pair of arm warmers, and their raven hair was tied up in a bun behind their head. They wore a bone-white, full-face mask with a red swirl going across its mouthless, squint-eyed visage and the Kirigakure crest carved squarely on the forehead.

"I didn't think that Kirigakure ANBU chased their prey this far," Kakashi noted.

"My colleagues have always said I'm quite stubborn," explained the ANBU, hefting Zabuza's limp body over their shoulder, "I have been tracking Zabuza and his partner Sarah Fortune for days now; I was waiting for an opportunity to catch them one at a time, until you did my work for me."

"Glad to help," Yamato replied, as they extracted Fortune from the tangle of roots and pocketed her small weapons.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got to bring these bodies back posthaste," answered the ANBU, bowing respectfully before using the tree-hopping technique to vanish into the canopy with Fortune carried under their arm.

"Well, that takes care of one problem," Kakashi sighed, "Now we need to…"

"Meowster!" cried out Taeko. All attention was turned towards her as she desperately slapped her unconscious master in the cheeks.

Before Kakashi could issue forth commands, he collapsed onto his knees, weakened from the fight. "Looks like I've got chakra exhaustion too…" he muttered, slumping into the floor.

"We need to hurry," Yamato shouted, "Ami, you and Sakura are to dig the client out of that hole. Ashi, you and Natsuki will help Taeko transport her master. I'll handle Kakashi!"

…

[Elsewhere]

The ANBU propped their charges up against a tree with a sigh of relief, checking the area for anyone else. Satisfied that nobody was around, the Kirigakure Shinobi reached for the needle in Miss Fortune's neck, before pulling it out slowly and quickly pressing a finger to the wound.

"That hurt, girl," Fortune groused, hissing in pain as she sat up pressing onto the wound herself, "Don't you have any painless ways of helping us play dead, Haku?"

"At least we're safe for the moment, Fortune," answered the ANBU, removing her mask to reveal smooth, pale skin and clear brown eyes looking back at the older woman. She reached into the satchel at the small of her back, handing the older redhead her weapons.

Fortune muttered something under her breath as she stood up, turning her attention to Haku as she pulled out kunai from Zabuza's body. "How bad is it?"

"He'll need a lot of medicine and rehabilitation, but he'll live," replied the imposter ANBU, bandaging the wounds with a roll of gauze.

The redhead smirked as she lifted Zabuza by the arms. "I admire your dedication, girl," she said, grunting slightly, "Your strength too."

"Luckily, we're not far from the safehouse," Haku agreed, handling his ankles as both of them picked up and carried transported the unconscious nuke-nin.

…

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **And there we go…we wrap up the Konohamaru Arc, and get started with the Nami no Kuni arc. We'll bring in MOBA references and weapons later on, but suffice to say Sarah Fortune will not be the only League or DOTA character to make an appearance…who knows? We may even get Admiral Kunkka or Gangplank in on the action.**_

 _ **The Nami arc may end sooner depending on how I feel…and you will be getting the promised turf war in the next chapter. I guarantee you, there will be more hunting involved.**_

 _ **Anyway, a warm round of applause to all my collaborators; both NorthSouthGorem and UnitedOsprey1991. Go check out their works when you can.**_

 _ **And do please leave a classy review, would you kindly?**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Vocabulary/References**_

 _ **Axton━from "Borderlands 2".**_

 _ **Onmyō chōhan━translated as "Yin-Yang Fried Rice" which is a Chinese dish involving fried rice covered in two separate gravies.**_

 _ **Hunter Enhancements━a good number of them are Spartan-II Super-Soldier augmentations…with changes.**_

 _ **Umbrella, Wesker, and Birkin━Resident Evil's antagonists for the better part of five games**_

 _ **Serving bodybuilders━basically done in "Shokugeki no Soma."**_

 _ **The race on TV━Pretty much a televised version of "Steel Ball Run" at a smaller scale.**_

 _ **Ms. Fortune━from "League of Legends."**_


	8. Wildlands

_**A/N: Greetings.**_

 _ **Nothing much here, just things happening as usual. This diverges from canon just a little bit but we get new characters.**_

 _ **Do read and review, would you kindly?**_

 _ **And keep it classy!**_

…

[Elsewhere]

The world was blurry mess of pale tan as Naruto stirred, freeing his hand from the sleeping bag to massage the throbbing headache he had. As his vision cleared, he was able to get a better idea of his surroundings; the ceiling was covered in an eggshell-colored popcorn texture, and the walls were a warm off-white grey. Off to the side, he could make out the jagged edges and dirty browns of his greatsword propped up against a wall, his weapon scroll on the table. Nearby, he spotted Kakashi laying on a faux-leather couch above him and Taeko curled up next to him.

"You're finally awake," he said, looking down on Naruto.

"Where are we?" Naruto asked.

"My home," answered a feminine voice walking into the room. It belonged to a dark-haired woman in a pink shirt, with subtle curves on her body and a few of Tazuna's features. She had a welcoming smile on her face as she set a tray of tea on the coffee table. "Everyone else is either keeping an eye on the property, or escorting my father around town while he gets more materials. My name is Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter."

Naruto nodded in response. "Nice to meet you."

"Meowster?" asked Taeko, as she woke. Upon seeing her master, she hugged him tightly. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"That's a loyal cat you've got there," Kakashi noted, "She's been waiting for you to wake up since we got here."

Naruto regarded Kakashi with concern. "What about you? How are you doing?"

The one-eyed jōnin smiled under his mask. "I'll be fine, nothing a week's recovery won't fix. But enough about me, how's your headache?"

"How'd you…"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is forbidden for a reason," explained Kakashi, "It's a powerful jutsu that creates solid bunshin and instantly turns the user into a literal one-man army; what most people don't realize is that dispelled clones will send information they've learned back to their creator. The downside is that on top of the chakra that every Bunshin can eat up, the headaches from the sudden overload of information can be fatal if used improperly."

Naruto reflexively massaged his head. "It's getting better, though I've recently noticed that I now know things every time my Bunshin are dispelled. And I know it didn't happen to me, but I keep seeing these images in my head where I've been killed by Zabuza at least a hundred times."

"Remember those images and learn from them," advised the jōnin, "Being trained as a Hunter, I'm sure you know full well how important preparation is on a hunt. Even though your Bunshin failed to kill Zabuza and his Mizu Bunshin, how the fight played out can only help you prepare for similar fights."

Whatever Naruto had to say was interrupted when a door opened. He turned to see Ashi and Natsuki entering the house. Upon seeing that he was awake, they both knelt in front of him, firing off questions about his well-being.

"So the dunce lives," snarked Sasuke from the doorway. He had just walked in with Sakura and Ami in tow, being led by Yamato. Tazuna walked in shortly after, relief washing over his features.

"Hey there, Sasuke," Naruto groused.

"Show some respect, Naruto-baka!" Sakura chided.

"Yeah? Well our boyfriend hunts monsters," Ashi fired back, "Can Sasuke fight the creatures we have?"

Ami was about to counter when Yamato grabbed her and Sakura by the shoulder, a forced smile on his face. There was a subtle, threatening edge despite his calm tone. "It's good to see fangirl loyalty is still strong here, but can you ladies compare boyfriends at another time?"

Both girls wisely chose to stay silent; they'd seen what Yamato was capable of. They were cut off from an apology when a boy in a fishing hat ran into the room, hugging the elderly man. "Grandpa!"

"It's good to be back, Inari!" replied Tazuna, running his hand on Inari's head.

"Who're they?" Inari asked his grandfather, upon noticing that they weren't alone.

"They're the shinobi that protected your grandfather," answered Tsunami, "Say hello."

"Yeah, and blondie over there trained as a Hunter," Tazuna explained.

Whatever joy Inari initially had while greeting his grandfather turned ugly as he sneered at the gathered Shinobi. "Why don't you losers just give up and go home already?!"

Inari tersely released his hold on Tazuna and stormed up the stairwell. Naruto sat up, hobbling after the younger boy. "Where are you going?" asked Natsuki.

"To give that kid a piece of my mind," Naruto answered simply, as he grabbed onto the railing of the stairwell. Walking down the hallway, he quickly heard someone sobbing from behind a barely-opened door. As he peeked into the slit in the door, he could see Inari on his knees, crying his eyes out. Any words he would've had with the younger boy were lodged in his throat with pity; he turned and went back down the stairs to rejoin his teammates.

"It's good to see we're all alive, especially you, Tazuna," Kakashi sighed with relief, "But something's bothering me."

"Aren't you overthinking things?" Tazuna asked, "I mean, there's nothing to be worried about, is there?"

"If only things were so simple," answered the jōnin thoughtfully, "Fortune's intervention aside, that fight was too easy. And that ANBU…something bothers me about her."

Yamato sat quietly in thought, his eyes widened in realization. "Senpai, she took the bodies."

Following his train of thought, Kakashi let out a hollow chuckle. "So we're likely to see them again after all."

"What're you talking about?" Tazuna asked.

"It's impractical to haul a corpse back to your base, much less two," Yamato answered, "It's like when Hunters carve up their kill on the spot and take the parts that are still viable; ANBU just need to bring back the head of their quarry so that their village can retrieve valuable jutsu for later use."

"And on top of that, the ANBU was using senbon," Kakashi finished, "Those needles are nowhere near as lethal as kunai and shuriken; they're short-ranged, and are only dangerous when you're aiming for tenketsu. So unless your aim is dead-on, they're more likely to debilitate your target than outright kill them, making them ideal for catching targets alive."

After a few seconds of thoughtful silence, Tazuna let out an exasperated sigh. "So what happens now?"

"You're going to continue working as usual," Kakashi said, "Our teams on the other hand, will need to get stronger so that we can prepare for the fight to come."

"Senpai, I have an idea," Yamato interjected, "Why don't I send my team out to explore the Nami no Kuni wilderness?" At this, Kakashi quirked his eyebrow at Yamato, while Tazuna listened intently. "I know we're going to need as many hands as we can get for the fight against Zabuza, but I feel this will be the best idea for Nami no Kuni's long-term interests."

"Sell me," Kakashi said simply.

"The problem I feel with Nami no Kuni is that there's no form of law enforcement here," explained the Mokuton user, "So if we can get enough information on the wildlife here to attract the Hunter's Guild…"

"…then Shirohige might send someone to set up an outpost here," Kakashi finished, "Hunters may not specialize in fighting people, but I'm pretty sure even the hungriest of bandits would think twice before coming here to start trouble if a Guild outpost were established here."

Tazuna nodded in thought. "That's all well and good, but how do I know that this…Shirohige is a straight-shooter? For all I know, he could be another Gato."

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there, dattebayo," Naruto interjected, "Now I know you've got trust issues with foreigners now, but trust me when I say that Shirohige's solid. Besides, whether you like it or not, you're going to _want_ a Guild outpost out here in case of monster attacks."

The bridge builder was silent for a moment before taking on a somewhat contrite expression. "I can give you a good idea of what to expect out there," he finally said, "I just hope he's as honest as you make him out to be."

"But before that, we'll need to see what everyone can put on the table," Kakashi added, "Which means you're all meeting me outside tomorrow."

…

[Konoha Hunter's Guild]

{Play: "Beat It" by Michael Jackson}

Hiruzen walked into the Great Hall with bags under his eyes as he looked around for Shirohige. For some reason, music was blaring through the doors of the Great Hall.

The first thing he'd seen upon walking into the spacious interior of the Great Hall were two signs. The first read "bar fights are prohibited" while the second read 'you break the jukebox, you _buy_ the jukebox,' both written in kana, kanji, and the Old World script. The first sign was put up because of the council's complaints, which kind of made sense due to the number of Shinobi that left the premises too broken for duty after such heated brawls. The second one on the other hand, was apparently due to the fact that Hunters kept using the jukebox as a weapon in said bar fights and Shirohige repeatedly had to replace them.

As he traversed the sea of bodies listening in on the music, Hiruzen saw a Huntress towering over a Shinobi on a stage, each with microphones as they took turns singing lines on a karaoke machine. Both sides seemed to have backup singers to help with the song, belting out tunes in sync with their leaders; were it not for the apparent competitive spirit in the song, he would've thought it was a duet. Though it wasn't so much the skill of the singers that bothered him as it was the fact that they were very loud.

Ignoring the singing competition, Hiruzen managed to find just who he was looking for, sitting at his usual spot with a cask of shojū in hand. He navigated the bodies of Hunters and Shinobi without any sign of being noticed until he'd arrived at his intended destination. "What brings you here, monkey-boy?" Shirohige asked, his voice barely audible over the singing.

"I've been receiving noise complaints from people tonight!" he shouted, "What's going on here?!"

"Rowena over there got into an argument with Tatsumi," answered the old Wyverian, "I reminded them that they couldn't have bar fights anymore, so they decided to settle this with a karaoke duel instead."

"Couldn't you have gotten them to do something quieter like a drinking game instead?!"

"If I did that, those two would drink me into debt!" Shirohige countered.

Hiruzen groaned as he massaged his temples. As much as it pained him to admit it, Shirohige was right; Tatsumi was a Shinobi that could hold his liquor until the end of the world. That wasn't to say he didn't have his fair share of losses though, it's just that he was a formidable adversary in any drinking contest. To think that he'd meet his match was unexpected.

"After tonight, would you _please_ keep it down?" he pleaded.

"While you're here, Hiruzen, how is the matter I asked you to look into?"

Knowing what Shirohige wanted to know, Hiruzen let out a sigh. "It's not good: my spies have reported that Yagura burnt down the Kirigakure Hunting Lodge at the start of the Bloodline Purge━with many of the Hunters still inside. They're still gathering intel, so we don't know for sure if Ackerman is dead or alive; what they _do_ know however, is that after burning down the Hunting Lodge, Yagura has lumped the Hunters in with the Kekkei Genkai holders and issued a kill-on-sight order for them."

Shirohige sighed sadly. "That boy is tempting fate. Jinchūriki or not, it's only a matter of time before he regrets this unprovoked attack."

"You don't seem too concerned about the situation though," Hiruzen noted.

"There's no _need_ for me to do anything about it; the situation will sort itself out soon enough," countered the Guild Master, "As for my Kirigakure counterpart, I wouldn't worry. As a matter of fact, I'd feel sorry for the complete _idiots_ that think they can take Ackerman on."

There were rumors about the Kirigakure Guild Master, among which being that Ackerman was a prodigy among Wyverian Hunters, as well as being raised by humans. Whatever the truth of the matter, everyone agreed that he was an undisputed master of the dual blades, and was no slouch in fighting humans _and_ monsters.

"I pray that you're right, Shirohige."

…

[Nami no Kuni Wilderness, several days later]

As Team Eleven sat at the campfire with large lizards roasting on skewers, Naruto sat on a stump with a small box open nearby, swabbing inside the barrel of his bowgun. Cleaned and lubricated steel parts glistened in the morning sun as he carefully inspected his work, the polished wood and bone furnishings shone with a silky matte sheen. After a quick inspection of the parts, Naruto heaved a sigh of relief before turning his attention back on the lizards.

"Are they ready yet?" Ashi asked.

Naruto craned in on the food, smelling the roast before turning to regard the Inuzuka heiress with a smile. "Yeah, dig in."

Yamato carefully grabbed his skewer, taking in the scent of well-done lizard before biting into its side. Yesterday, they'd managed to pass Kakashi's chakra control exercise with little trouble, having gone through it themselves shortly after their team was formed; this afforded them more time to explore the wilderness while training for the fight to come. Prior to this, Yamato had already been challenging his genin to find creative solutions in the wild by forbidding everyone from taking conveniences that modern Shinobi took for granted: MRE packets, bottles of soldier pills, even matches. Luckily, Naruto was well-versed in wilderness survival thanks to the Moon Siblings, and so he was able to help his teammates set up their tents and pick out things for breakfast the night prior.

"Here's the mission: you three are going out there to explore the Nami no Kuni wilderness," Yamato explained, "Tazuna may have given us a rough estimate on what to expect, but nothing beats going out there and seeing it for yourself."

On that note, Naruto agreed━Tazuna's information was sparse, likely because he didn't spend a lot of time in the wilderness; still, it was better than going out blind. From what he could tell on the way to the campsite, the island nation was mostly wetlands made up of mangrove swamps and many rivers and creeks fed directly by the ocean, making the water somewhat brackish. The majority of the vegetation, apart from the mangroves and scattered trees, consisted of vines and shrubs hanging overhead, though the humidity made the island an ideal place to find mushrooms of all kinds.

As far as the wildlife went, one would find the basic repertoire of creatures that could be found in a wetlands; though there had been reports of salt- and freshwater crocodiles basking in the sun, as well as the presence of pigs. In terms of fish, Tazuna knew that small game like tilapia and bass were caught on a regular basis, while larger fare like arapaima and flathead catfish were not unheard of; the only fish everybody worried about the most were bull sharks. While Nami no Kuni was fairly well-known for herons and cranes, there still were plenty of other beautiful bird species as well, many of which were parrots.

Going further up the food chain was where Tazuna had the most trouble; barring the few brave souls that managed to return alive from foraging in the wilderness, nobody dared to enter the swamp to find out what monsters resided on the island. That being said, he _did_ know that Nami no Kuni was a very good place to find aquatic species like Amphibians, Leviathans, and Piscine Wyverns. In addition, he'd seen a few Neopterons and Carapaceons creeping about, and they mostly made up the lower rung of the food chain as far as monsters went.

"We have two days to gather as much intelligence as we can about this area before we let the Guild do the rest," Yamato continued, biting into his lizard, "I'm not counting on us mapping out the island's wilderness in this little amount of time, but it still helps if they have a basic idea. So be as specific as you can: What animals are native here? What kind of environment is it? Are there invasive species here? What are the natural resources here? Everything you can record would be helpful."

"Do we have a time limit per expedition?" asked Ashi.

"Do everything you can in eight hours," answered the Mokuton specialist, "That should leave a little bit of time for training before we have to throw ourselves into it more seriously for the rest of the week."

"Can we hunt while we're here?" Naruto asked, assembling his heavy bowgun.

Yamato nodded in approval. "If you see the opportunity to do so, then hunt. This will kill two birds with one stone; it'll provide us with extra income and food, and an opportunity for the three of you to train on your teamwork. Don't forget, your first priority is reconnaissance, which means you should be doing more writing than hunting."

Naruto inserted the large magazine into his heavy bowgun, and pulling on the bolt before folding it for storage. "Got it."

Breakfast went along quietly until the three genin and their pets began their first foray into the swamp. The dense woods made it easier to use the tree-hopping technique; coupled with reflexes from earned from regular free-running exercises, and the three of them were able to cover vast distances within minutes. Throughout their exploration of the swamp, they were able to catch glimpses of the ecosystem that existed in the island nation: cranes dredging the water for frogs and small fish; crocodiles leaving larger herbivores like Mosswine alone in favor of basking in the sun; even a few huge fish breaching the water to swallow small parrots in their gaping maws. Overall, it seemed that the ecology of Nami no Kuni was healthy and strong, though it still needed a Guild presence to paint a more accurate picture of the ecosystem and to watch over it.

Naruto slowed down, raising a hand to signal his teammates to slow down. "Hear that?"

Everyone in Team Eleven trained their ears to the sound that Naruto spoke of. There was a steady rumble in the distance, and a subtle hint of dust getting kicked up. "Sounds like a stampede off in the distance," noted Ashi, "And I think I hear something else."

"Well, let's go see what it is," Natsuki offered, "Maybe we can find dinner too."

Naruto nodded in agreement, allowing Taeko to climb onto his back. "Then let's get going, dattebayo."

The six of them traversed through the densely wooded swamp, coming up against a ledge with larger dust clouds getting kicked up. Throughout the constant sound of heavy feet pounding dry land, they could hear other sounds from below, prompting the genin and animal partners to look down the cliff to see the ocean on one side, and large animals that thundered along the path below them. They were large quadrupeds, with black stripes contrasting against leathery gray skin; their most notable features were large crests swept backwards and terminating in a pair of prongs, and a sinewy tail that ended in a flat array of spikes.

"Looks like Nami no Kuni's got an Aptonoth population," Naruto noted, "At least enough for a few free-range ranches, I think."

"Assuming of course they can domesticate a few," Natsuki added.

Ashi and the pups were silent as they stared at the stampeding herd below, eyes filled with an even mix of hunger and fascination.

Aptonoths were such a common animal around the world that the Guild officially stated that they could be hunted year-round without needing a license. Part of their success lay in their ability to grow rapidly in number, capable of building a small herd from a handful in a matter of months if not weeks; it was also in those numbers that they were particularly strong, as their population could get large enough to start a devastating stampede. Still, if push came to shove, they were not afraid to use their tail spikes in an attempt to discourage predators from attacking them.

In terms of temperament, Aptonoth were docile enough that some people successfully raised them in ranches, and they could be used by Hunters as beasts of burden. What they were most well-known for however, was their meat; Aptonoth meat was pretty similar to juicy, fatty beef, and could keep a chef stocked for a month, assuming they didn't regularly serve Hunters. Besides that, their hides were tough enough to be used in a variety of leather products, including rawhide.

The herd rounded a corner, several members falling into the ocean. Naruto could see the water frothing and reddening as green blurs made short work of the victim. Their pursuers were frilled creatures with lavender scales. They were smaller, but their sharp teeth and the way they snapped at the herd made it clear that they were carnivores.

"So they've got Jaggi here too," Ashi said.

Jaggi were Bird Wyverns that barely sat higher than Herbivores on the food chain, being individually weak, and having no special abilities. What they _did_ have in spades was strength in numbers, teamwork, and a certain amount of ferocity; a blessing and a curse in that they had a tendency to pick fights with animals further up the food chain. They were led by a larger alpha male with white fur that went along his spine known as a "Great Jaggi" who was snapping at the herd with his large jaws as he neared the head of the stampede.

As the Great Jaggi was about to bite into the neck of the leader of the stampede, a red blur dove into the scene, bowling over the Aptonoth, pressing its weight down on its body, snapping its spine. The winged creature had hardened red scales with black markings going along its long neck and back, and softer cream-colored scales on its underside. The tip of its black snout curved into a beak-like point, and it had razor-sharp teeth lining its mouth as it breathed fire. Its long and powerful tail was tipped with seven thick, sword-like spikes that gave the impression of a gigantic mace. It walked on a pair of talon-tipped legs that gripped tightly onto the carcass it stole from the Jaggi, and its gigantic wings were armed with more talons.

"Rathalos live here?" queried Natsuki, warily watching as the red wyvern threatened the Jaggi from its kill.

"Not a surprise," Naruto commented, "Raths are extremely adaptable."

"You think we can take him on?" asked Ashi.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't think we're ready for him even if we wanted to, dattebayo. Besides, the Guild usually tells us to just leave Rathalos and Rathian alone; they're very dangerous -especially when their chicks are involved- but they play an important role in the environment as apex predators. Still, Rathalos are usually found high up in rocky areas like mountains and volcanoes━they normally just come down for food."

Team Eleven watched as the Jaggi vacated the premises in favor of chasing down the rest of the Aptonoth, leaving the Rathalos alone with his kill. The Flying Wyvern didn't have much time to celebrate its victory as a large creature burst out of the ocean, crawling up the beach towards him on four reptilian legs. It had crocodilian features, with a long neck, an armored blue scales and creamy underbelly, and several orange spines jutting from its back and two from its hooded head. Overall, it looked like a creature that was capable of living in both the sea and land━characteristics that put it squarely in the Leviathan family.

"Looks like we have a turf war between kings here," noted Ashi, watching the impending fight with interest.

"No surprise we'd find a Lagiacrus here," added Natsuki, "I'm just glad we didn't run into one on the way here."

Naruto nodded in agreement. If Rathalos were the 'King of the Sky,' then Lagiacrus was the 'King of the Sea.' Both were known rivals whenever they encountered each other, with a weakness to their respective elements of lightning and fire.

The Rathalos roared at his rival, threatening the Lagiacrus by spitting a small gout of flame at its face. The Lagiacrus reeled its neck back before snapping its jaws at the Rathalos, barely missing his neck as he took to the skies on massive wings, leaving the Leviathan to glare hatefully at the Flying Wyvern as he flew out of the area with his prize.

"Let's follow him," Naruto said, "Hopefully we'll see what he's doing here."

…

[Somewhere in Mizu no Kuni]

The sound of monkeys and birds in the distance could be heard as a team of four shinobi, the Kirigakure crest on their hitai-ate, trudged through the forest. They carefully pushed aside branches as they tried to move quietly through the foliage. Their prey was a Wyverian Hunter that had escaped the destruction of the Kirigakure Hunting Lodge; add in the fact that he led the Kirigakure Hunters, and he was a priority target for assassination over any other Hunter.

However, they weren't the only team assigned to follow this lead; given how dangerous their mark was, Yagura had thought it fitting to send ten teams to investigate. Rumor had it that he'd taken on a trio of jōnin in a brawl—he came out of the fight with just a few bruises, but his opponents had taken even worse of a beating. And so, to increase the odds of success, he ensured that each team was composed of nothing less than jōnin Shinobi.

"You really think he'll be here, Genzo?" asked one shinobi, brandishing a machete.

"Why _wouldn't_ he hide here, Shinichi?" his colleague asked in turn, "That messenger pigeon we intercepted told all Kiri Hunters to come here. Hopefully, we'll have the opportunity to kill him, _and_ set up an ambush for any other Hunter that thinks they'll be safe here."

"You've got a very good point there," added another shinobi, his eyes open for possible attackers.

There were many stories of the Onigashima Archipelago, among which being that the legendary samurai Momotaro had visited the largest island with animal companions to subjugate its namesake population of Oni. While the truth of the matter has long been forgotten, it was long held that its islands were still a safe haven for Oni of a different sort; pirates were known to make port due to the extra security that the surrounding coral reef provided. On top of that, rumors persisted that the largest island was currently home to the Elder Dragon that supposedly _created_ the region, if not _all_ the islands of Mizu no Kuni.

"Genzo, you really think it was a good idea to burn down the Hunting Lodge?" asked another shinobi.

Genzo scoffed. "Taichi, please! The Guild's got nothing on Yagura-sama. Besides, what're they gonna do? We already killed most of their Hunters, so nobody's gonna come to help those meatheads anytime soon!"

"I dunno, I heard from a few people from the Old World that the Guild's so powerful, they could wipe your country off the face of the map if you piss them off enough."

"That's just a story."

"I don't think it's just a story," countered Shinichi, "I mean, have you actually _seen_ how easily the Guild kept sending Hunters our way, whenever they disappeared? Given how much more powerful the zenny is than the ryō, and how much territory they already control, and I'm starting to doubt our chances. All they'd have to do is finance a fifty-year war on us, then take _that_ war to the rest of the continent, and even then there won't be a dent on their bank account."

"Even if that's true, what can the Guild do with their toys that we can't do with-?"

Before Genzo could say a word, he heard a noise behind him. He turned around just in time to watch as a figure in a brown jacket and khaki pants darted towards him with a pair of large blades in hand. As he raised his kunai to defend, it was too late: his head and his knife-hand were taken off in one stroke. There was a delay as the remainder of the Shinobi team moved to fight back; Taichi and one other were cut down with single hits, the weight of the blades adding momentum to the slashes.

Shinichi turned to run only to scream in pain as a pair of spike-tipped hooks pierced his shoulders, pulling him backwards and into the ground as they ripped their way back out of his body. He opened his eyes to have a good look at his assailant, who pressed onto one of the wounds in his shoulder with a three-toed foot.

The attacker was a Wyverian with a black bowl cut that looked back at Shinichi with cold fury in his steel-colored eyes. He wore a loose leather brown jacket over a button-down shirt, a pair of white slacks, and a short white scarf tied around his neck. Holstered at each side of the Wyverian's waist were a pair of large metal cylinders with the spiked hooks protruding from them, and what looked like a complicated system of bands that wrapped around his feet. In each of his hands were a pair of blades with a ridiculously thin profile that made them look more like oversized box-cutters than actual swords.

As the target raised his box-cutter sword, prepared to cut into his neck Shinichi raised a hand. "ACKERMAN, WAIT!" he shouted, "I'M WITH THE REBELS!" The Wyverian froze momentarily, giving Shinichi a cold glare. "I'm the one who distributed the location of this island to you guys! Mei-sama is trying to save as many Hunters as possible, but she wants to see you especially!"

"Prove it," Ackerman commanded, his eyes still locked onto Shinichi. As though daring him to lie, he pressed the blade of his box-cutter against his neck with enough force to draw blood.

"I was ordered to say a code-phrase to you!" Shinichi gasped out, "When the Blood Moon falls…"

"…The Golden Sun rises," finished the Wyverian Hunter, sheathing his swords to pull out a small, green vial from his inner coat pocket, "Drink this, then take me to her. And if this meeting turns out to be a sham, you'll regret it soon enough."

…

[Nami no Kuni Wilderness]

Haku climbed rocks as she searched for ingredients to aid in Zabuza and Fortune's healing. While the former had taught her the majority of what she knew, she'd also picked up a few tricks from watching Hunters at work, and then trying them out for herself━among which being a list of medical herbs which could be used to make potions, and the recipes for them.

It was a good thing she chose to forage for the ingredients. One of the reasons being that the village pharmacy was devoid of the medicines she needed, and so she was forced to search the wilderness for herbal remedies. Another being that the Shinobi teams were likely to be in the village, keeping an eye open for people that didn't belong, which would've blown her cover, and left her patients to die slowly…potentially of infection or blood loss. But the main reason that she was eager for this job was that she needed fresh air after Gato's behavior towards Zabuza, and especially after his sexual harassment towards her and Fortune just before that. She'd felt a good amount of catharsis after breaking the man's arm and threatening his guards, but the incident still left a sour taste in her mouth whenever she thought about it _and_ their client. _Put it to the back of your mind, Haku,_ she thought to herself, _Just finish this job, and you won't have to think of his disgusting fingers touching you, or_ any _other woman again._

As she climbed over the rocks, Haku found another medical herb. After taking the larger leaves of the plant, she stored them in a jar with water she'd collected earlier from the safe house. All she needed to do was to let the juices steep in the water, and she'd have a potion ready to drink in a matter of minutes━seconds, if she boiled it like a tea. Checking her basket, she counted ten bottles of potions ready for drinking, enough healing herbs to make at least two more bottles, as well as some senbon for self-defense. She'd also managed to gather together several bottles of honey, a few Bitterbugs, some blue mushrooms, and a few mandragora in her foraging.

Looking around in the area, Haku found herself gawping at the remains of a giant tree towering in front of her; it was large enough to be used as a mid-rise apartment complex, the sunlight lancing through holes in its hollow, ancient trunk. As she admired the ancient tree, she saw that she wasn't alone; standing on a giant mushroom cap with their backs toward her was one of the Shinobi teams that had fought with Zabuza earlier in the week. It was the one with the Ranger boy among them, this time he was carrying a large weapon that was holstered on the small of his back.

With her hand in the basket, Haku took careful steps towards the trio and their pets as she felt around for the senbon; she was in no mood to start a fight, but she was not afraid to defend herself if need be. Before she could take another step, she watched as the Ranger boy turned to regard her with a serious expression on his face. He silently gave her the 'hush' sign before waving her in.

Wondering what he wanted from her, she removed her hand from the basket, and quietly hopped onto the mushroom for a spot to look into a hole in the trunk. Haku watched with no small amount of fear as a Rathalos and a Rathian nuzzled each other, rubbing their bodies together lovingly like giant cats, before breaking off to look each other in the eye. The Rathalos nodded towards a fresh Aptonoth carcass on the floor near his feet, beckoning his mate to take the first bite. Before the Rathian could take up her mate's offer, a soft tapping sound broke the tender moment, bringing both wyverns' attention to a nest near the center of the chamber, several large eggs inside.

The expecting parents moved in close to the nest, watching silently as the eggs pulsed in place. The tapping got louder until a pointed, beak-like nose punched through the first egg, before a dull brown, reptilian form broke out from the shell, followed by three more eggs cracking open. As the Rath chicks took their first breath, they squeaked affectionately upon finding their parents looking tenderly back at them. After a tender moment shared between the parents and their chicks, the Rathian and the Rathalos tore the Aptonoth carcass apart, serving bits of the Herbivore to the hatchlings from their mouths.

Barring their gruesome butchering of the carcass, Haku could not help but sigh as the Raths cared for their chicks. Her mind wandered back to happier times…before she discovered her kekkei genkai. "Always pulls at my heartstrings whenever I get to see stuff like this," whispered the Ranger boy, "The way Rathalos and Rathian care for their babies, dattebayo."

"Touching as this is, we should probably get going," said the Inuzuka girl, "I don't think we want to be next on the menu."

"On that, we can agree," replied Haku.

The four of them left quietly, taking care to avoid anything in their path that might make noise. Rathalos and Rathian were primarily visual predators, but they still had a fairly well-rounded sensation suite to hunt whatever prey items they could find, defend their nests from home invaders, or even to punish baby-snatchers and egg-stealers. Once they were a good distance away, Haku let out a sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding in; it wasn't every day one watched Rath chicks hatching with their parents, and lived to tell the tale.

"So what brings a girl like you to this part of the woods?" asked the raven-haired girl.

"I came out for medicinal herbs," explained Haku, "You?"

"Exploring this place," answered the beastly girl.

The Ranger glanced at the basket's contents. "Need any help?"

"No, but I would appreciate the company."

"Might as well introduce ourselves then," sighed the tattooed girl, "The name's Inuzuka Ashi; these are my dogs Natsuhime and Akihime." The two puppies that accompanied her barked in response.

"Uchiha Natsuki," the raven-haired girl added.

The Ranger boy nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto, that's my Palico Taeko." The Felyne mewed in response.

"I'm Haku."

The four humans and their respective pets wandered through the swamp, keeping their eyes peeled for potential animal attacks. At the same time, they took every opportunity they could to gather much-needed resources for surviving in the wilderness: mushrooms, certain insects, and herbs for medicines, even a few bones and metal ores for making equipment. Every time they found a spot to forage, Ashi and her hounds would aid in sniffing out poisonous herbs and mushrooms, before standing guard with Naruto to allow Haku and Natsuki to gather the precious resources in peace.

"So, is somebody seriously hurt, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, looking through the scope of his large weapon.

"My friends," Haku answered simply, as she picked a blue mushroom, "They're just so stubborn, but they're all I've got."

"I know that feeling," agreed the blond, "Sometimes I run into people that just plain drive me crazy in the Guild Hall, but I think they're still pretty cool."

Haku broke her attention from appraising the mushroom in favor of looking towards the Ranger. "You have ties with the Hunter's Guild?"

"He's licensed with the Konoha Guild, as a matter of fact," Natsuki interjected, her attention on some Sleep Herbs.

"So why are you in a Shinobi team?" Haku asked, turning her attention back on the blue mushrooms, "I thought that Hunters and Shinobi didn't mix well."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of being a Hunter, dattebayo," answered Naruto, "It's just that I figured that I'd be able to do more as a Shinobi than as a Hunter. That's why I want to be Hokage one day."

Haku was silent in contemplation as she put a mushroom cap into her basket. "Do you three have anyone you want to protect?"

"We wouldn't be doing this job if we didn't," Ashi replied.

The girl smirked in approval. "Good. I suppose you're all strong then; I find you're at your best when you have someone you want to protect."

After getting the herbs and mushrooms they needed, Haku and the Shinobi team trekked through the woods━ it was slow progress as the team took stops to write and draw in a little book each of them carried. Each of their journals were different: Natsuki's drawings were by far the best, detailing the smaller animals that lived in Nami no Kuni with exquisite detail; Naruto and Ashi's pages were filled with more text and quick scribbles, but had plant samples pressed in to compensate. At first glance, it was as though they were all keeping a journal of their findings like explorers paving the way for adventure; in reality, it looked more like they were making a report for someone. Haku had no idea what they intended to do with their journals, but she found herself drawn to the amount of focus they'd had with the subjects they were studying. Especially with Naruto, scribbling down his observations in his own journal as his eyes followed a small bird flying across his vision; she found interest that someone as muscle-bound as he was would have any interest in art.

Eventually, they came to a stop near a clearing with a large log, allowing the group to have a moment of respite as they sat down. "I think this is where we part ways," Haku finally said, "I've got what I needed."

"You sure you don't need an escort?" Ashi asked, petting her dogs, "A girl like you? Out in these wilds?"

"I think I can handle myself," Haku said as she lifted her basket, turning to leave. She paused after several steps, smiling to herself in amusement. "I'm a boy by the way."

Naruto and Ashi snorted, before laughing. "No you're not," the latter said, trying to catch her breath, "You're totally a girl!"

Haku shrugged. "Worth a shot."

As soon as she'd wandered deep enough into the swamp, Haku sat down on a stump. Looking through her basket, she could not help but smile in satisfaction at the materials she'd managed to gather throughout the outing; she'd more than doubled the number of herbs she'd picked up, and with the addition of more honey jars and other ingredients. It was more than enough for her purposes.

Still, it was a very good day in that she was able to communicate with others, and see the wildlife for herself…albeit with an escort, but she was able to appreciate the beauty of nature with someone else. _Though it does help that their resident Hunter is ripped,_ she thought to herself with a blush.

As she thought of the good things she'd seen through the day, Haku sighed sadly. "If only we weren't destined to fight each other."

…

[Team Eleven]

Naruto watched as Haku disappeared into the swamp with her basket in hand before turning his attention back to his team. "So ladies, shall we continue?"

"We should probably head back," Natsuki suggested, "It's getting dark, and I'd rather not be too tired to fight out here."

"Much as I'd like to see more, she's right," Ashi added, putting her pencil away, "It's getting close to the time limit anyway. Besides that, I reckon we've already got enough to give the Guild an inkling of what to expect out here."

There was a brief moment of thoughtful silence until Naruto nodded in assent. "I'm sure we can add more details tomorrow. Besides, who says we can't add more to our reports on the way back?"

Team Eleven navigated the swamp, hopping through the trees at a moderate pace to admire the scenery they'd just explored. To be sure, the mangroves weren't the ash trees of the mainland, but they were still numerous enough to cover the entire landscape. Other than that, there was more than enough fertile land for the trees to approach the towering heights of the ones back home; not tall enough to house their own miniature ecosystems, but respectable.

Many rivers criss-crossed the land of Nami no Kuni, all of which were wide enough to be used as natural waterways, which could improve the infrastructure of the village. Many of them intersected at a lake they'd found with a small island in the middle, that could easily be used as a shipping hub. This alone could potentially feed the village without relying solely on imports, provided the villagers were educated on how to stay safe from the larger predators they shared the land with. And on top of deterring potential pirate incursions, the Guild's presence on the island could embolden the villagers enough to explore their homeland themselves with their aid.

All thoughts had come to a halt when the genin team heard the sounds of a battle going on from below. The team of six quickly came to a halt, taking a moment to have a look at two creatures that were locked in battle. One of them resembled a large, muscular leopard staring back at them with calculating, almost glowing amber eyes. Its enlarged front paws up to the elbows, as well as parts of its face were plated in a shiny blackish-brown glass like a pair of claw-tipped gauntlets and face mask. There was also a mane of glass quills growing from its back, neck, and the entirety of its long tail along the grain of spotted yellow fur that raised and lowered in rhythm with its breathing, preventing any attempt at mounting it. Its hindlegs were leaner than its more powerful and meatier forelegs, but were still reasonably powerful and had the black glass armor on more essential locations like the knees and ankles without compromising on agility. Overall, Naruto eyeballed the creature to be roughly 18 meters long, and about 6 tonnes of muscle.

Its opponent was longer and more serpentine in form, with feathered wings outstretched like the hood of a cobra. The iridescence of its jade-colored scales complemented the pattern of dark green stripes and the brighter shade of its underbelly, contrasted with the reds, blues, and yellows of the feathered plumage clustered on the back of its head spear-like head. It hissed at the giant leopard, striking with the speed of a snake, with fangs the size of small swords.

The snake beat its wings, flinging a pressurized blast of air directly at its target. The leopard was nimble enough to avoid the air blast, but was still blown away by the explosion as it hit the ground beside it. The winged snake was mostly a stationary fighter, keeping its opponent at a distance with ranged attacks. The leopard on the other hand was doing everything in its power to find a chink in the snake's defenses, avoiding the ranged attacks while slashing at its body with its razor-sharp claws.

Their fight was interrupted when a new challenger barged into the arena, smashing through a fallen log. Its crocodilian appearance landed it squarely in the Leviathan category, and it was covered in a bony suit of plate mail covered in all manner of vegetation on its back. It walked on slender, muscular legs that ended in webbed, the claw-tipped toes so as not to get in the way of running. While its long, heavily armored tail was enough to batter its prey around, its main weapon was a long, tapered maw filled with dagger-sharp teeth. Its head was reinforced with a thick bony white helmet that covered the top of its head and its lower jaw, and with the addition of more dagger-like teeth, and bone blades lined its back like a saw all the way to the tip of its tail. Naruto eyeballed the monster to be roughly 25 meters long, and 10 metric tons of muscle and spiked, bony armor, making it the largest of the three creatures.

The titanic cat let out a threatening roar at the giant crocodile, its quills raised before flinging them with a backflip at the crocodile. Some of the quills penetrated the crocodile's armor; it charged its opponent while it was in midair, ramming the giant leopard with enough force to toss it into the air, quickly bite down on an unarmored foot, and throw it towards a tree. The cat recovered quickly enough to dig its claws into the ground, raking the moist soil to slow its momentum; as it came to a stop, a plume of smoke drifted from the leopard's body through the chinks in its armor. Naruto could see that there was no way for the leopard to continue fighting with its foot broken, and so it chose instead to roar furiously at its enemy; the plume of smoke thickened into a smokescreen that quickly filled the air.

The crocodile stayed its ground, waiting for its opponent to make the next move; the winged snake darted from the smokescreen, wrapping its coils around the crocodile's thick body. The snake squeezed hard, focusing most of its attention on the crocodile's mouth, preventing it from using its powerful jaws to snap it in half. As the snake tightened its coils, the crocodile thrashed violently to break out of the snake's constriction hold, even slamming its head on the ground and against a nearby boulder several times in order to cause it pain.

Eventually, the snake released its hold, gliding away just in time for the leopard to pounce from the smokescreen, swipe at the crocodile's eye, uppercut it from under its jaw, and finish off its combo with a backflip that sent a salvo of glass quills into the crocodile's lightly-protected underside. The crocodile roared in pain, blood spilling from the wounds, tufts of grass sprouting wherever the droplets landed. As the bleeding stanched, the crocodile turned to regard the leopard with hate in its remaining eye, before turning to leave, allowing the leopard to limp away on its broken leg.

"Looks like there'll be plenty here to see for the Guild, dattebayo," Naruto noted, "With such unique animals here, I'm sure this island will have no trouble attracting hunters of all levels."

"If you want, we can hunt one of them," suggested Taeko.

"Maybe tomorrow," her master admitted, "We've got to get back to camp now."

…

[Kirigakure Rebel Camp, Onigashima Archipelago]

There was no shortage of activity in the rebel camp, though Ackerman could feel despondency in the air. While a good number of Hunters had survived the purge, it was still a minority compared to the 3,500 or so names that were active in Mizu no Kuni; the survivors that he did see were drowning their sorrows with whatever drink they had on hand, if they weren't helping around the camp. Still, he noted the light in their eyes whenever they saw him pass by.

"It's bad, isn't it?" asked Shinichi, still a bit haggard from nearly losing his head, "Then again, I guess you'd know; you were there yourself."

"How many Hunters have you saved?" he asked.

"Not enough," replied the shinobi bitterly, "We've managed to save as many as we could, but we're still getting reports of Hunters getting swarmed on the field by Kirigakure shinobi. I've even heard that some were almost assassinated by the jōnin they were working with."

"Yagura has made himself an enemy of the Guild," added Ackerman, "One way or another, this won't end well for him."

Shinichi remained silent, instead choosing to lead his charge through the camp. Along the way, Ackerman saw that there were basic amenities, including a miniature cafeteria and a makeshift forge for people to prepare for combat, but the majority of the structures were tents that were specifically intended for week-long expeditions in the wild. Still, at least there was a safe haven for the rebels to recuperate in between missions.

Apart from the ramshackle nature of the rebel camp, Onigashima was an ideal place to hide; there were reports that the largest island in the cluster was home to an Elder Dragon-class monster that supposedly created all the islands of Mizu no Kuni in a single cataclysmic night. There was only one creature in Ackerman's mind that could plausibly create such a massive archipelago; a monster so massive and powerful that it needed no less than _sixteen_ Hunters for a reasonable chance of victory. Just the thought of inadvertently provoking a Laviente without Hunter support was enough to make anyone wary of coming here, and nothing short of Yagura coming to the island himself would make the rebels budge anytime soon. So long as the rebels were smart enough to leave that overgrown snake alone, they had a safe haven that the loyalists wouldn't dare touch.

The two of them had come to a stop in front of the largest tent in the camp. Shinichi lifted the flap, revealing a trio standing around a table with maps spread out. Standing to Ackerman's left was a man with one eye covered in an eyepatch, his hair slicked and held up by his hitai-ate. He wore a green haori over a pinstriped suit, and a pair of talismans with the character "承" written twice on each dangling on his ears like earrings. There were no weapons on his person, but he could tell that this man could handle himself in a fight if necessary.

To his right was a bespectacled boy with slate-gray hair in a pinstriped shirt, and camouflaged pants that went down to his calves. He wore his hitai-ate on his vest, directly over his sternum like a clasp; the vest itself was used as a holster for the twin-gripped sword strapped to his back. Ackerman had seen that blade used several times in his life, and knew not to underestimate it, though he wondered as to the skill of its wielder.

However, all that was trumped by the woman in her thirties that dominated the center of his attention. Auburn hair, and stunning green eyes were complemented by the subtle hourglass form under her deep blue dress. Ackerman had met this woman once or twice in his time as the Kirigakure Guild Master, but those times were enough for him to know that she was not to be trifled with; whether as a leader or a kunoichi.

"It's good to see you again, Ackerman," she greeted, "Though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"You and me both, Mei," answered Ackerman, "You and me both."

Mei sighed, leveling a sympathetic expression to the Wyverian. "You and the rest of the Kirigakure Guild have my condolences. It really shouldn't have happened to anyone."

"Mei-sama, we already have plenty of competent trackers and sensor-nin," countered eyepatch, "What use do we have for…"

"Ao, shut the hell up before I _really_ kill you," Mei shot back, a serious expression on her face as she leveled a glare at the man in the eyepatch, "Yagura's actions have thrown us all together; since we're all on the same boat, we may as well cooperate so that we can weather this storm." Satisfied that Ao was put in his place, she then turned her attention back to Ackerman. "Forgive my subordinate; Ao doesn't have a high opinion of Hunters in general."

"I'm already used to it," replied Ackerman, "But I doubt you wanted to see me just to give me your condolences."

Mei nodded in agreement. "We need to talk about how we are going to work together on this…"

…

[Team Eleven's campsite, night]

Ashi sat down by the fire, watching as Naruto cooked sections of a fairly large snake on a spit over the campfire. She could feel her mouth watering uncontrollably as the smell filled the air; the meat took on a juicy, golden-brown color as the flames licked it, the stuffing of creamy cheese, spinach, green onions, and lettuce being cooked in each tied-up section. A mixture of saké, soy sauce, thyme, and salt were regularly used to brush the meat, adding to the aroma that made her even hungrier.

Off to the side, she could see Natsuki sharpening a shiny new survival knife that she'd received shortly after the unexpected Bazelgeuse and the Deviljho invasion. It was a laminated steel, tantō-style blade that was longer and slimmer than Naruto's knife, with an aggressive point that made it an excellent stabbing implement, a fairly thick spine for strength, and a razor-sharp edge. The sheath and grip were covered in a textured black lacquer, with brass fittings, a guard shaped like an eagle's beak, and a lightly flared steel butt-cap. What truly made it stand out was the Uchiha gunbai inlaid on the saya with red glass and mother-of-pearl, and engraved into the copper habaki━functional pieces with aesthetic odds and ends to identify its owner. It was, at its core, a fighting knife first and a tool second.

Seeing an opportunity to inspect her own knife, Ashi pulled the blade out from its leather holster to admire the craftsmanship that went into the solid bone, double-edged blade slightly shorter than Naruto's knife. The broad, sword-like blade tapered gently into a diamond-shaped tip, was honed to a razor-sharp edge, and varnished with a smooth, matte polish that made it easier to sharpen while strengthening it. The contoured grip was made with antler slabs secured at both ends with a rawhide wrap, a mosaic pin with the Inuzuka crest inserted through the tang between them, and a flat steel pommel. While she didn't see much of a need for her knife in combat -her claws could do the job just fine!- she _did_ find that it was useful in other ways as a tool, such as using it to forage herbs and to clear branches out of her way.

Both were gifts to commemorate Team Eleven's formation as an official Shinobi team, and were also very practical tools for the sort of missions they were very likely to undertake. Up until they came to this island, only Naruto ever carried his knife wherever he went; after seeing the sort of mission they were likely to undertake if they were to be promoted, Ashi decided to keep the knife with her at all times. _Maybe not as a weapon, but I could always use it as a tool._

Naruto craned in on the snake rolls, taking in a deep breath before allowing a satisfied smile to crease the corners of his face. "Dinner's ready!"

He reached out to the side to pick up plates for everyone, as well as a large food bowl for the puppies. Ashi watched as he distributed the rolls to everyone, extracting the stuffing to have it serve as a side while splaying out the snake sections right next to it. The smell of the seasoning spread evenly throughout the dish made her all the more eager to accept the first helping as he passed it to her. Once everyone else got a dish, Natsuhime and Akihime were given the tail end of the snake in their bowl.

"Itadakimasu!" Ashi chirped. As the team was about to bite into their meals, they could hear a heavy rumbling in the distance.

"What was that?" Natsuki asked.

"Sounds like another turf war," Naruto noted.

"It also sounds like a good opportunity to see how different things are at night," said Yamato, "Go investigate the commotion, report back on what happened."

The genin team set aside their plates, covering them up with plastic before grabbing their gear and weapons, following the sounds of the conflict. As they navigated the woods with only the moonlight, they noted the appearance of bubbles drifting through the air. The sounds of the turf war became more defined, and more bubbles could be seen: they could pick up the sound of hissing in the distance.

After nearly an hour of traversing through the woods, Team Eleven arrived at their destination and saw two monsters circling each other in a large clearing, bubbles and eerie green fireflies swirling through the arena. Each monster had a long body like a snake, with slime-covered, pearlescent white scales glistening in the moonlight. Pink fins lined their backs and framed their faces, and their undersides were covered with long, stiff, deep purple fur. They had vulpine facial features, with whiskers like a koi. Both of them hissed at each other, dorsal fins raised like hackles, and their neck-fins flared as they challenged each other.

Nearby, they could see a creature of the same species with off-white pink scales and softer features watching the fight intently as the two combatants stared each other down. The white leviathans swept their broom-like tails against the ground, causing more bubbles to form as they circled each other, issuing forth threatening hisses, daring each other to make the first move.

One of the fox-snakes pounced, causing the other to slither across the ground on its brush-lined underbelly, using its hook-like claws to dig in and swing its tail at its battle-scarred rival. The duel between the two creatures unfolded like a dance; between trying to slash at each other with their claws, and trying to bite their adversary, it was truly a battle of attrition as both launched bubbles at each other. The veteran slithered across the ground, avoiding hits at the last minute while taking every opportunity he could to deal definitive hits. Meanwhile, the younger fighter did his absolute best to catch up to his rival, compensating for his inexperience by being faster, stronger, and more aggressive; still, he was able to get in a few hits of his own.

In the end, the younger suitor took more hits than his adversary. When they finally broke off from their melee, the two glared at each other, the younger one tried to keep up the stare, but was finally forced to bow his head in submission, and limped away.

Satisfied with his victory, the veteran turned towards the apparent female and nuzzled her, their dance more intimate than the duel that had happened moments ago. Their bodies coiled around each other, twisting and turning, covering each other in soapy bubbles in what could only be a courtship dance. Their passionate waltz lasted for a good five minutes before the two of them decided that they'd wanted some privacy, and left the clearing.

"Never thought I'd see Mizutsune fighting for mating rights, let alone seeing a _female_ Mizutsune," Naruto noted, "I heard they're a very rare sight unless you're in really wet places like here and Mizu no Kuni."

"Totally worth it to come here," agreed Ashi.

Natsuki let out a 'hn' in approval.

"You girls wanna stay out here a bit longer?" asked Naruto, sitting down on the branch, "Moon's looking real nice tonight, dattebayo."

Natsuki and Ashi looked at each other, a silent question on their minds before nodding in assent, and taking a seat on the branch alongside Naruto, Taeko sitting on her master's lap while the twins settled in Ashi's hoodie. The stars were shimmering through a sea of indigo, complemented by the silvery disc of the waning crescent. Distant clouds added to the scene, which was grounded by the tall mangroves and trees of Nami no Kuni disappearing into the horizon. It was a simple sort of beauty that one could find in nature.

"It's quiet moments like these that makes me glad to be out here, dattebayo," Naruto said, his attention at the moon, "To be there when there's a good opportunity to get some fresh air and see something so beautiful? I'm glad the Hokage made me train as a Hunter."

As the three genin and their animal partners admired the night sky, Ashi and Natsuki smiled; they could feel their hearts pounding slightly faster as they leaned in on Naruto's shoulders. Both chuckled to themselves; neither would tell him that this moment, regardless of the circumstances and brevity, still counted as a date.

…

 _ **A/N: Not a lot of hunting, I'll admit, but plenty of turf wars and exploration; rest assured, there will be plenty of time for a more serious Hunt a little later. Though I wonder what will be hunted in Nami no Kuni with its swampy terrain. What can be cooked?**_

 _ **So anyway, aside from establishing the ecosystem of Nami no Kuni, I'm testing my ability to create original monsters, and to make my own turf war. Hopefully I did a good job on that end, because it took a while to picture the fight in my head…well that and trying to kill Nergigante.**_

 _ **As usual, do please give thanks to NorthSouthGorem for his beta-ing…and UnitedOsprey1991 for pre-reading. Give their works a read if you can.**_

 _ **Please review, and keep it classy, would you kindly?**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary/references**_

 _ **The karaoke duel—happens sometimes on "The Voice"**_

 _ **Ackerman—Levi Ackerman from "Shingeki no Kyojin" as a Wyverian**_

 _ **First encounter—the opening cinematic for "Monster Hunter Tri"**_

 _ **Leopard vs. Snake vs. Crocodile—basically the reenactment of the creation myth for those of you familiar with Aztec mythology, where Tezcatlipoca (the leopard) and Quetzalcoatl (winged serpent) teamed up to fight the Cipactli (the crocodile), and created the world from its corpse**_


	9. Food and Discussion

_**A/N: Been a while.**_

 _ **Iceborne has taken up my time…and I'm enjoying it.**_

 _ **Another reason would be that I'm deciding where I'm going to go after the Nami no Kuni arc and how to conclude it. I could do a Chūnin Exam in a foreign nation, or I could even send Team Eleven to deal with the Yukigakure Incident. So far, I'm leaning towards the Yukigakure Incident, but I'm seeing a Mohran naval battle as a potential future as well. The possibilities are endless once Nami no Kuni is finished.**_

 _ **Do read and review, would you kindly?**_

 _ **And keep it classy!**_

…

[Unknown Location]

All was quiet, save for the trundle of wooden wheels as a man drove his carriage down the road, transporting large bales of hay, and a man sitting on top of them. The passenger wore an indigo school uniform over a medium-purple shirt over a well-muscled body. His pants were held up with a pair of small belts with a triangular pattern on each, and his long-tailed coat had a large brass chain dangling from the collar. Unruly black hair seemed to merge with a cap that had a large, golden button, and a golden plate with a flattened hand pinned on it. His features were chiseled, almost always locked in a frown as he sat quietly.

"So what brings you this far from civilization?" the driver asked.

"Business," answered the oversized student, "My boss got a message about a potential new hunting ground in Nami no Kuni, and sent me to see about setting up an outpost for the Guild. Good thing I left as soon as I did…old man was pissed as hell that someone hijacked an airship that carried his shipment of booze."

The driver raised an eyebrow at the passenger. "So you're a Hunter, I take it?"

"Once in a while," answered the Hunter, "Used to hunt more often, until I decided to be a researcher for the Guild. I just so happen to specialize in marine biology."

Sighing in sadness, the driver shook his head. "Well, you're going there at a bad time; Nami no Kuni is currently being run by a tyrant by the name of Gatō."

The Hunter looked back at the driver. "Last I checked, there's two Shinobi teams there trying to solve the problem."

"I don't think it's going to matter," answered the driver, "Gatō is so loaded, I wouldn't be surprised if he's got enough men in his pocket to drown them in numbers."

"Yare yare daze," sighed the Hunter, pulling the brim of his cap down in exasperation, "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now, Naruto-kun?"

…

[Team Eleven's camp]

Ashi and Taeko watched as Naruto stared down Natsuki, twirling a training knife in one hand as they circled each other, looking for openings in each other's defenses. After the former had returned from his hiatus, he'd demonstrated some very good knife-fighting skills from his time in the wild. And for a time, he was undefeated in the knife fight; the only people that could legitimately make him work for his victories were Seibei, herself and her brother, and the Uchihas. Seibei was no surprise, given that Wyverian kids were given knives to use as tools, so of course he'd be no slouch as a knife-fighter; Ashi and Kiba on the other hand were simply more aggressive.

This in turn led to Sasuke and Natsuki picking up an interest in the art of knife-fighting, picking up a trick or two after getting their asses handed to them by Naruto for the first few weeks. After learning from their defeats, and sparring with each other, the Uchiha twins were able to catch up with him; so far, there were roughly 100 wins between the three of them throughout the year, and almost double that number in draws. This particular sparring match was an exercise to keep both of them fit and dexterous for the fight ahead…but more importantly, to work on speed and to encourage creative thinking.

"Brings us back to the academy, doesn't it?" Naruto asked, twirling his knife with a smirk.

"When me n' nii-chan started kicking your ass?" Natsuki teased, tossing her own dagger between both hands.

Naruto said nothing, slipping into a fighting stance; settling on a regular knife grip, while Natsuki favored her reverse grip. Throughout the time she'd known of his fighting style, the younger Uchiha twin noted that her opponent had a fluid fighting style, which carried on in his taijutsu skills. Her opponent began the fight with a light swipe of his knife, reeling back as she countered with a slash of her own.

According to Iruka and Fumi's pointers, the secret of the knife fight lay in keeping the flow of motions going uninterrupted, and bringing the opponent down without taking much punishment yourself as you interrupt _their_ flow. One moment he'd be fighting with a lot of wrestling maneuvers, other times he'd be punching and kicking to get himself an advantage; or in the case of this knife-fight, he switched hands after grabbing her by the wrist from a missed thrust to deliver a stab at her shoulder while Natsuki grabbed his knife-hand by the forearm, locking them both in a grapple. The younger Uchiha twin had to reinforce her body with chakra to prevent her wrist from snapping like a twig in Naruto's grip, while preventing him from scoring a killing blow.

The stalemate continued for a good minute before Natsuki grinned mischievously, quickly planting a kiss on Naruto's lips, much to Ashi's silent outrage. As Naruto's mind raced over the kiss, she then took advantage of his shock to shift her weight forward, pushing him over; however, as Naruto was still holding onto her wrist, she was pulled to the ground with him. She still had a grin on her face as she pressed the edge of her training knife against his neck. "I win."

Naruto was silent from what had just happened, but before he could say anything, Sasuke ran from out of nowhere, and shoved Natsuki off of him before pouncing on him with a kunai stabbing down on Naruto's throat. Ashi sat up with the pups and as Naruto caught Sasuke by the wrist, the latter glaring furiously at him.

"Animal!" he snarled, trying hard to press his kunai down on Naruto's throat, "How dare you kiss my sister?!"

"Technically, _she_ kissed _me_ , dattebayo!" Naruto fired back as he held his grip on Sasuke's wrist with little effort.

Sasuke put his off-hand on the ring pommel of his kunai, pressing down harder; so lost was he in his rage that he didn't notice as Natsuki ran from the side to kick him off of Naruto. He froze in place as Natsuki shielded Naruto with her body. "Back off, nii-chan!" she barked, "I won that fight, didn't I?"

"That's not the point!" Sasuke shouted, glaring daggers at Naruto as he stood back up, "I'm not about to let my sister have her heart broken by some animal with Hunter blood that kisses whomever he wants, whenever he wants!"

"Yeah, well I'm a big girl now," Natsuki fired back, "That means _I_ can kiss whomever I damn well please!"

There was a terse silence between the Uchiha twins as they stared each other down, having an argument with each other without saying a word. After a few seconds, Ashi relaxed as Sasuke holstered his kunai in the pouch at the small of his back before turning his gaze to Naruto. "Break my sister's heart, and I'll do more than break your legs, meathead."

"I'll do my best not to," Naruto grunted, clearly unintimidated.

"Now that we've squared away your brotherly instincts, mind telling me what you're doing here, Sasuke?" asked Yamato.

"He's here because of me," answered Tsunami as she walked into the clearing, with Ami and Sakura escorting her, "The market's finally out of food, so I thought I'd try my hand in the wilderness. I went to your senpai to see if I could borrow his team for the day, and then he recommended that I go to yours instead."

"What exactly do you need?" Yamato asked.

"I need an escort throughout the swamp," Tsunami began, "And given that you have a licensed Hunter on your team, I thought maybe you could let me borrow him to help me out."

The jōnin grinned as he turned to his team. "Well then, this is a good opportunity to put your memory to the test. I want you kids to make your preparations, then escort the client's daughter around the swamp; take her to wherever you can find edibles for tonight's dinner."

"We're on it," Naruto said, his hands flying through hand seals before disappearing in a puff of smoke; as it dispersed, Ashi and Natsuki saw Naruto in a suit of scale armor that would not have looked out of place in the Bronze Age. His knife was holstered at the small of his back, and his face was protected by a bronze happuri with a pair of horns from the forehead. Overall, he looked like some sort of ancient warrior-prince…all he needed now was a sword and shield, and he was ready to go save some princesses from dragons.

Naruto unfurled the scroll at the small of his back to summon a Bowgun from it. It was smaller than the Heavy Bowgun she'd seen him use, but Ashi noted that the bore of the barrel was still the same. "Now we're ready to go," he finally said.

"Whatever," Sasuke groused, turning to leave, "Just make sure you bring her back by the end of the day."

As Ami and Sakura grabbed each of Sasuke's arms, Naruto leveled a dirty glare at the older Uchiha. His expression changed as he regarded Tsunami. "So what are we looking for?" asked Ashi.

"Right now, I'm feeling like shrimp, duck, and fish," answered the homemaker.

Naruto smiled confidently at Tsunami. "Then I think I know where we're going."

The team of six escorted their client throughout the wilderness, keeping an eye open for predators as they located prime locations for hunting and fishing. As they traversed the swamp, they could see the fauna of the Nami no Kuni swamp going about their business; large, green Slagtoth frightening off Aptonoth herds from watering holes; flying reptiles darting from tree to tree in an attempt to capture birds and insects; even the sound of small frogs in the middle of the mating season. Eventually, Tsunami got tired from trying to keep up, forcing the team to stop at a clearing to take a break.

"So what's up with your son?" asked Naruto, breaking the silence.

"Why do you ask?" Tsunami queried in response.

"Well, he hasn't exactly tried to make us feel welcome, dattebayo," answered the Hunter, keeping an eye open for predators.

Tsunami fidgeted, looking away in shame. "I'm sorry, he wasn't always like this. He used to be such a sweet boy until…"

"Maybe you should tell us what happened," suggested Natsuki, breaking the older woman from her thoughts, "It might help if you get it off your chest."

After a moment of debating with herself as to whether she should entrust the shinobi team with the truth, Tsunami let out a sigh of resignation. The tale she told was one of hope and heartbreak, when a wandering fisherman named Kaiza came into their lives, saving Inari from drowning, shortly before having a chat with said bullies. He then stayed in their house, practically becoming a member of their family; helping around the house, advising Inari on the best way to live his life, even showing up to help Tazuna on occasion whenever someone called in sick. Eventually, he got close enough to the family to settle down and marry Tsunami while raising Inari as his own son.

One day, it all came to an end when Gatō came into power. As things began to take a turn for the worse, Kaiza was one of the few voices to rise up against the power-mad businessman. Unfortunately, he was also the _only_ one to do anything about it, showing up at Gatō's home base, with the intent of stopping the horrid man from destroying his beloved home. To his credit, it took the entirety of Gatō's gang to subdue Kaiza, but at the end of the day, their numbers were too much for him to handle. Gatō had his men beat him, prop him up in the town square on a cross, and then ordered for his arms to be lopped off in public; after that, Inari had lost faith in heroes in general.

"And that's how it's been recently," Tsunami continued, "Not long after Kaiza died, my father chose to defy Gatō himself by building his bridge. In that way, he chose to honor my late husband with his project━the only problem is that things are moving far too slowly to make a difference. After Kaiza's death, people began valuing their own lives over their pride; men are leaving the construction site in droves, forcing my father to make more of his workers take on more jobs to compensate for lost time. I shudder to think what will happen when _everyone_ just gives up and walks away."

There was no need to say anything else; the consequences of their failure were too terrible to contemplate. Naruto broke the silence by pulling the handle on his bowgun, the loud *chk-chk* bringing everyone's attention to him as he shouldered the weapon. "Maybe that's why we're here," he said, standing up, "Maybe Kaiza called us from the grave to help save this land and everyone he loves."

Before anyone could say anything, Naruto raised his hand for silence, his eyes tracking something in the sky. His movements were quick as he sighted his target, brought the bowgun up, and pulled the trigger; a moment later, a duck fell from the sky. "So let's help him out."

Motivated by his words, Team Eleven and Tsunami resumed their search for ingredients as they came to a stop by a shallow creek that was a well-known fishing zone. There were plenty of Gajau swimming in the stream, competing with equally large carnivores like arapaima and bull sharks, but nobody in the village was brave enough to try and catch them. Instead, Tsunami insisted that they try their luck with smaller fare instead, especially considering that a Gajau was too much food for her house.

Natsuki was left to guard the client as she went to a different part of the stream to catch shrimp, while Ashi and her pups tried to catch the fish with their bare hands and teeth. At the same time, Naruto and Taeko used long bamboo poles to make four-pronged fishing spears. It took an hour before Naruto returned to his team with a large fish on two of the prongs of his spear, while one of the German Shepherds held one in her mouth .

"I wonder what Mangetsu-sensei and Mika-sensei are doing right now…"

…

[Unknown location]

The sound of cheering could be heard as men from all walks of life shouted at an arena; some did so from the safety of a television screen, but the majority of them came straight from the stands. The combatants in question were a pair of giant monsters that were staring each other down, their massive, armored bulk belying deft footwork.

The two saurian creatures were armored in indigo plates of obsidian, with long, muscular tails tipped with a very large mace. Their pronounced forearms were covered in large, bullet-shaped slabs of obsidian that were covered in a glowing green slime. On top of their obsidian-covered heads was a large, dull horn also tipped with the glowing slime. Adding to their menacing appearance were a pair of blood-red eyes, seemingly glowing with rage.

Both creatures had their share of battle scars in the form of cracks in their armor, but were differentiated by the color of the flags flying on steel eye ring anchors bolted into their back plates. One flew a red flag that read "Balrog" in the Old World script, the other a blue flag that read "Dudley."

"Balrog is dishing out those hammer blows," cried the announcer excitedly, "And Dudley is just bobbing and weaving around them! Not bad for a Brachy that hasn't seen action in a while!"

Brachydios were Brute Wyverns that dominated the underground ecosystem, competing against rock-eaters and lava-swimmers as highly aggressive apex predators. It had a symbiotic relationship with a glowing green slime mould on its fists and its horn, which exploded violently after being 'primed' with its saliva. This in combination with its agility, armor, and the power of its punches ensured that very few creatures could challenge it. However, in the criminal underworld, specialized Poachers would be hired to capture Brachydios alive, drugging them with a stimulant then goading them into pit fights that endangered the already rare apex predators.

"It seems Dudley has been on the defensive since the start of the match," noted the announcer over the jeering of the crowd, "He's only been making light jabs at Balrog's face! What's the reigning champ of Hi no Kuni doing?!"

As the announcer spoke, Balrog continued his assault, trying to hit the nimbler Dudley with heavier punches; his opponent goading him into a corner. Dudley stopped dodging in favor of bracing himself up against the wall and keeping his guard up, allowing Balrog to slug at him without restraint. Every explosive punch Dudley took cracked the corner behind him, digging a groove into it.

After taking nearly a minute of continuous pummeling from his opponent, Dudley saw his opportunity to fight back as Balrog's punches began to lose their momentum, becoming weaker by the second. As the challenger let up in his flurry of punches, the reigning champ let down his guard, beginning his counterattack with a few right hooks to the face before following through with two uppercuts to the underbelly and one heavier one under the chin. He finished his combo with a heavy punch to Balrog's torso, sending his opponent corkscrewing into a wall in one blow, leaving a noticeable fissure in his armor and a Brachydios-shaped groove in the wall.

"Unbelievable! Dudley has landed the finishing blow!" declared the announcer, "And it's a good hit too! We—"

The announcer was cut off from saying anything else when explosions rang out from above, allowing a duo of dark-skinned individuals descend upon the Brachydios boxing match. The male of the two landed in front of Balrog's face, throwing a pair of smoke bombs at his face; the woman mounted Dudley's back upon landing, grabbing at the anchor while jabbing at the chinks in his armor with a large knife.

"Aw crap, it's the Moon siblings!" cried someone in the stands.

"Screw this! I ain't going to jail over 2,000 ryō!"

"2,000 ryō? I just freaking won 2,000 _zenny_ , and I ain't giving it up just because━!"

The doors opened quickly, vials flying into the crowd and smashing against the floor before shutting the door behind them. As the thick, cloying smoke from their contents dissipated into the air, members of the crowd began dropping like flies. The doors opened to allow a swarm of Konoha Shinobi wearing gas masks into the stands, observing the mass of sleeping people.

"The new tranq bombs work like a charm," noted a Shinobi.

"Well duh!" admonished his Kunoichi teammate, "The Hunters have been using this stuff to capture monsters for decades, of course it'd work!"

"Stow it!" shouted their commander, "We've gotta get these lawbreakers outta here before they wake up!"

As the Shinobi teams went to work collecting the sleeping audience, Mangetsu and Mikazuki stood proudly over the Brachydios they'd subdued. "Good thing these assholes never put the anchors into the softer tissue," Mangetsu noted, "Would've been a pain to take 'em out."

"Well it wouldn't be a good fight if they did, now would it?" Mikazuki asked back.

Mangetsu grunted in assent, looking up at the skylight they'd fallen through before letting out a whistle. Thick ropes unfurled, allowing a horde of Felynes to rappel into the hole they'd fallen in through, bringing two large stretchers with thick steel pipes down with them, quickly followed by a team of Wyverian specialists carrying ridiculously large backpacks. As soon as they arrived, the specialists brought out socket wrenches to pull out the anchors, before the Moon Siblings assisted the two teams in rolling the Brachydios onto the stretchers. Two of the specialists walked around the sleeping monsters, placing their chakra-coated hands on their bodies.

"What's the prognosis doc?" asked Mikazuki.

"Looks like we got here just in time," answered the doctor, "This one is not that badly hurt, so we can take him away immediately. The other one needs some serious help, so we need to take him back with us to help him recover before letting him back in the wild."

"That's good," Mangetsu replied, heaving a relieved sigh, "I really hate when people do this kind of thing."

"You're not the only one," added Mikazuki, "Whoever organized these pit fights really ought to be tossed in jail for animal cruelty."

"Yeah," Mangetsu agreed, "All our time following leads, it'd be worth it if we can stop this ring here and now."

Mangetsu and Mikazuki walked up the stands, past the Shinobi that were rounding up the spectators of the fight that had taken place. From the evidence they'd managed to gather up to that point, the Brachydios fight was only a means of financing a much bigger operation, but they weren't the only monsters used for these pit fights; Tzitzi Ya-ku, Anjanath, even Rathian were abducted from their natural environments and forced to fight in these cruel arenas. Pops had given them the mission to hunt down whomever was responsible for this, and put them down before more monsters were subject to these acts of animal cruelty.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Mangetsu pushed the door open to reveal an open office with a view overlooking the arena. The first thing the Moon Siblings saw was a fat, short man sitting in a leather chair behind a wooden desk; the expensive suit he wore made it more than obvious that he owned this underground pit fight. However, he wasn't alone: standing behind the proprietor of the underground arena was a younger, masculine figure in a white leather coat and hooded cape, with red lining over a frilly white shirt. The only pieces of protection he wore were a steel pauldron over his left shoulder, and a pair of steel vambraces, each piece an ornate work of art in their own right. He wore a red sash under a series of leather belts that restricted the weight of the leather to his waist, held up with a steel belt buckle in the form of a triangular emblem with a rounded bottom. The assailant had one hand clasped over the target's mouth, while the other was clenching a large, heavy dagger embedded in the jugular vein of his fat neck.

"Looks like I've beaten you to the kill," answered the assassin, an amicable smile on his face as he wiped a white feather across the victim's wound.

Mangetsu scoffed. "Well, well, if it ain't our old pal Ezio."

"If the Guild sent you, then this is more serious than Pops thought," Mikazuki added.

Ezio Auditore was a Guild Knight from the Old World, specializing in the sort of cases one would normally send a Shinobi to do…specifically to deal with poachers and other criminals from the Old World. That said, while he mostly dealt with human criminals, he was still no slouch when it came to dealing with monsters. He mostly favored the Dual Blades and the Sword and Shield, but he was familiar with the light bowgun and longsword when the occasion arose.

"This scum is part of a smuggling ring that transports criminals from the Old World to this place," explained Ezio, looking through the victim's desk, "Right now, I am following the trail of a mark by the name of Venus Evertide."

"Evertide?" Mangetsu repeated, as his Old World counterpart pulled a book from a drawer, "I've heard of her; she killed a few Hunters back in the Old World before going full-on bandit queen. She's here in the Shinobi Nations?"

"No doubt committing a good number of atrocities in her time here," acknowledged Ezio, as he read the book, "And it seems that I was right; she's not the only Poacher to come here. This is a ledger containing records of all the things and people this scum has smuggled to this nation; as well as the ships used and where they went. With this, I can at least bring the Venus Evertide case to a close…it seems that she has gone to a place called 'Kusagakure.'"

Mangetsu and Mikazuki looked at each other, silently asking a question to each other before nodding in agreement. "If she's gone to Kusagakure, then chances are she's already dead," began the younger Moon Sibling, "I'd heard that an outlaw from this land, Otohime set up shop there. Word is that she's taken an unhealthy interest in experimentation."

"Either way, I must follow this lead," answered Ezio, putting the book in a satchel, "If nothing else, to prevent them from harming any more innocents. It was good to see you two again…hopefully, we may work together to end this outrage in the near future."

Ezio tipped the beak of his hood in respect before walking out the door, leaving the Moon Siblings to stare at his back. "Well, that about wraps up the mission," Mangetsu sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Hopefully we won't have to see him again."

"Depends on how long he stays," Mikazuki replied.

Mangetsu huffed in amusement. "I'll bet Naruto's glad he's not on a mission with us."

…

[Tazuna's house]

The turntable was loaded with the bounty of Tsunami's foray into the wilderness, with many things sorted into three different dishes. One plate had a pile of crispy cuts of duck with multicolored rice chips accompanied by a smaller dish with steamed white buns. Another was filled with lightly-fried shrimp that had been covered in mayonnaise and walnuts that were sprinkled with sesame seeds. However, the centerpiece of the table was a wide plate containing a large, steamed fish that was garnished in green onions, dark-gray skin glistening from the soy sauce drizzled all over it. Nearby a rice cooker was keeping a pot of rice warm, enough to feed everyone at the table.

"Now _that_ looks good, Tsunami," Tazuna noted.

"You can thank Team Eleven," answered the homemaker, "I don't think I would have been able to get everything without them. Especially Naruto-kun and Taeko, who were very helpful in the kitchen."

Tazuna looked at the boy in question as he beamed with pride. "My sensei once told me that a Hunter who can't cook his own food will have a very sad life."

"A Hunter _and_ a cook?" Tazuna asked, an eyebrow raised in astonishment, "You'll make your future wife a very happy woman."

"Yeah, she'll be one happy woman indeed," Ashi drawled happily, daydreaming as Tsunami filled bowls with steaming hot rice. As soon as everyone else was served first, she clapped her hands together. "Itadakimasu!"

Before anyone could help themselves to a portion of the bounty on the table, a heavy thumping could be heard from upstairs as Inari descended with a scowl and a poisonous glare in his eyes. "Why are you trying so hard?" he asked, leaving everyone at the table speechless, "What do you know about our suffering? All of you Shinobi probably get tucked into your beds by your parents at night and you get three square meals a day, while we're starving and cold over here in Nami no Kuni! You think your so-called training is gonna help you? Big deal! Gatō has a whole army of thugs that will eat you up! There's no such thing as a hero, and there never will be! You're all just a bunch of fakers that are gonna die for nothing!"

"And where were you?" Naruto demanded, earning a baleful glare from Inari.

"What did you say?"

Naruto stared back at Inari. "You heard me, where were _you_ when Kaiza went to take on Gatō by himself? Where was _everyone_ when he needed help to rise up against the bastard that's done this to you?"

"Shut up! You…"

Before Inari could say anything else, Naruto gripped his chopsticks in one hand, and slammed his fist onto the tabletop; it wasn't enough force to destroy the table, but it was enough to shake the dinner plates on impact. As he released his grip, the chopsticks were dug into the tabletop, standing ramrod straight. "I really would shut up right about now, dattebayo," he groused, "I'm tired from scouting this island's wilderness with my team, and your unhelpful attitude is not helping matters any."

In light of the threat, Inari chose to remain silent, quivering in fear as he withered under Naruto's glare. At the same time, everyone else watched the exchange with morbid curiosity. "You say there's no such thing as a hero? Well I say you're a liar, and a stupid one at that," Naruto said, his calm tone trembling with rage, "Your dad tried to stand up to Gatō and died because he had nobody to back him up when he rushed his place. Even so, he inspired your grandpa to rebel against Gatō in his own way━he was so moved by your dad's example that he's risking death to build his bridge not just to save his home, but to give you a future.

"Then there's your mom, who's willing to brave the wilderness with my team just to put food on the table and hold the family together, even when there's no hope in the village. I'll be honest, that woman has nerves of steel if she were able to keep this up for so long without losing it herself. Now _that's_ a hero."

"You? You just sit in your room, crying to a photo of your dad all day long, hoping someone could join you in your little pity-party. 'There's no such thing as a hero?' Get over yourself! You're already surrounded by heroes! And if you can't see that, then you're more of a disappointment to Kaiza's memory than I thought!"

Inari remained silent, gobsmacked as Naruto sat up from the table, walking past the younger boy with Taeko in tow as he holstered his storage scroll on the small of his back. "Where do you two think you're going?" demanded Yamato, as Naruto put his hand on the doorknob.

"I'm gonna go hunt," explained the Ranger, pausing to regard his sensei, "I need some time to cool down or else I'll smash his head through a wall or something. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days."

Nobody said anything as Naruto and Taeko walked out the door. The dinner was silent and awkward; while the food was indeed good, the mood was killed because of the kerfuffle between the two boys. Meanwhile, Inari sat at the rooftops, watching the stars as he grumbled to himself. "What does that idiot know about suffering?"

"Oh I'm pretty sure he already knows plenty about that," came a voice from the window that nearly startled him off his spot. It belonged Ashi, leaning out the window behind him. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Inari snorted, before continuing to look at the stars, allowing the Inuzuka girl to sit next to him.

"I _would_ say that Naruto was out of line, but I don't think you have the moral high ground yourself," she said, causing Inari to scoff, "You just whined about how bad your suffering was to an orphan."

Whatever words Inari had in mind to refute her were lodged in his throat at the older girl's statement. "I don't know who his parents were, but my Ma once told me that they were heroes," explained Ashi, "She also said that they died shortly after he was born. You are actually luckier because you still have a family; _he_ had to live alone for most of his life with no dad to say he's proud of him, and no mom to hug him when he's sad━because of that he's had to grow up way faster than you."

Inari turned away, looking out in the distance in shame. "The point is, that of all the people in this house, Naruto-kun is probably the one who identifies most with you," continued the Inuzuka girl, "And he also happens to be right; hiding in your room and crying for your dad is not enough. You have to man up and do something you would be proud of…something _he_ would be proud of—if you don't, then nothing you do will mean anything, and you'll only hate yourself for it."

After a moment of quiet stargazing, Ashi sat up and walked back into the house, leaving Inari behind to ponder her words.

…

[Nami no Kuni Wilderness]

Haku strode through the swamp, a smile on her face as she searched for ingredients for medicine and supper. Zabuza and Fortune's recovery was going well after administering the medical regimen of Hunter potions, though they still needed time to recover. While Zabuza was looking forward to a rematch with Hatake Kakashi, he _really_ wanted to fight Naruto—if only to challenge a fellow greatsword wielder. Fortune on the other hand, sported a serious expression, undoubtedly trying to find a way to fight back against Naruto's Mokuton-wielding sensei without getting turned into fertilizer herself.

Either way, they needed to keep up their strength and to speed up their recovery, which meant putting real food into their bodies. The Konoha ration kits they'd procured from the black market were pre-packaged meals high in calories, intended specifically to keep a Shinobi or a Hunter out on the field longer until they could get back to the village or camp for a proper meal. While the soldier pill had largely replaced the ration kit for the same purpose while dramatically cutting down on the weight, some people actually preferred the satisfying feeling of actually _eating_ the food rather than popping a pill in their mouths. Still, neither option was meant to be a long-term solution for hunger, lacking the nutritional value that the human body needed for good health.

As Haku was about to reach for a clump of white mushrooms at the root of a tree, she could hear the rhythmic thudding of something large running in the distance. It wasn't long until someone leaped out of the bushes next to her, scooping her up in one arm before running off. Struggling to get out of her kidnapper's grip, she looked up to see that she was in Uzumaki Naruto's hold; the desperate expression on his face was enough to tell her that he was obviously running from something. He wore a suit of armor made of brass scales, and his massive bone sword was replaced with a stone nodachi slung across his back.

"Can't talk now!" he said, in between strides.

Looking off to the side, Haku quickly noted that his Palico was running on all fours alongside her master. "We're being chased!" she added.

Whatever query Haku had on her mind was quickly cut off when a creature smashed its way past a log, chasing the trio down relentlessly. The smaller forelegs, bipedal stance, and its large, muscular form put it squarely in the Brute Wyvern category. With the large, shovel-like crest at the front, the creature resembled a Barroth━however, unlike the desert-dwelling creature, it had a shorter and slimmer profile that was suited for the close confines of the swamp. It had longer claws on its forelegs, dark-brown bone armor with about the same consistency as tree bark, and it had sharp teeth set in a stronger set of jaws like a saw. With the interplay of brown and green splotches on its skin and armor, it was more than capable of hiding among the trees.

As soon as the three of them entered a clearing, Naruto put Haku down, and quickly drew his nodachi, while Taeko readied her hammer. The Barroth subspecies smashed through another log, roaring in challenge as the Hunter and his Palico prepared to fight back. Naruto and Taeko charged the Barroth, the former slashing and stabbing furiously at the creature's legs while his partner threw oversized clay pots with flaming pieces of cloth at its face. The Barroth roared in anger before rearing back its head and slamming its bony crest into the ground in an attempt to crush Naruto with it. Naruto rolled away from the attack, and ran up a tree trunk, only for the Barroth to bite deep into the trunk ahead of him, tearing off a chunk of wood with a heavy jerk. forcing him to leap off the tree and slash at the softer tissues of the Brute Wyvern's neck before following through with another slash at its legs.

Taeko threw another firebomb at the Barroth, the liquid fuel burning on its bony armor slowly. As it tried to put out the flames, Naruto summoned three Kage Bunshin, turning himself into a one-man hunting party. One of the Bunshin was armed with a heavy bowgun, another was armed with a huge hammer, while a third was equipped with a large spike in one hand and an equally large shield in the other.

The four versions of Naruto quickly went to work; the one with the heavy bowgun ran into the treeline, while his comrades rushed the Barroth with their weapons in hand. The lancer slid across the ground, his shield raised at an angle for his colleague with the hammer to vault off of it before smashing his hammer down on the Barroth's bony crest. As soon as he landed, the hammer-wielder swung his weapon upward, catching the Brute Wyvern under the chin, flipping it onto its back before running towards the Naruto with the stone nodachi. The swordsman swung down on the Barroth's tail, cutting into the soft underside of the tail shortly before the hammer struck the spine of the blade, driving the sword through meat and bone as it severed the Barroth's tail in one go.

The Barroth roared in fury as it rolled itself back on both feet, glaring balefully at the three Naruto's readying themselves for the next round. As it charged, two explosions rocked the Brute Wyvern after hitting it in the knee, tripping it and planting its crest into the ground. After a few moments of struggle, the Barroth was free…however, its victory was short-lived as the swordsman and hammer-wielder ran towards the creature with a large barrel under their arms; both left their payload at the Barroth's ankles before fleeing the scene. After another shot rang out, the barrels detonated, tipping the Barroth onto its side, giving the lancer enough time to jab his lance through its rib cage and into its heart, earning a final howl of pain from the Brute Wyvern.

"Sorry about that," Naruto said, drawing his knife out of its sheath, as he walked towards the carcass with his Bunshin, "Didn't see that thing coming."

"What were you doing this far out?" Haku asked.

"Needed some fresh air," answered the Naruto with the hammer, "Figured a hunt would help clear my head. What about you?"

"I was foraging for dinner," she answered simply.

The four Narutos went to work silently as they carved up the kill, while Taeko sealed the severed tail away on a scroll. At the same time, Haku searched the area for more things she could cook easily. "So, when were you gonna tell us that you worked for Zabuza, Haku?" the lancer asked.

Haku flinched, before slowly reaching into her basket as she feigned innocence. "I don't know what you're talking abou-"

"C'mon, I already figured it out so you may as well come clean, dattebayo," chided the gunner, continuing his work as Haku reached for the senbon hidden in her basket, "Those ingredients I saw in your basket the other day were obviously for Potions that Hunters use on a regular basis━especially Mega- and Ancient Potions. That, and I didn't see any doctors in town, and there are most certainly no Hunters in the village besides me, so I doubt anyone else would know how to make them. Then there's the fact that you're foraging for medicinal herbs in the wilderness to begin with: that tells me you have people that'd probably get arrested the _second_ they set foot in a hospital. Once I added it all up, I had a pretty good idea who you work for."

As she brushed her fingers gently against the solid steel of her senbon, Haku glared at Naruto, looking for the best tenketsu to hit him. "So what happens now?

"Nothing for now," answered the swordsman, "Like I said, I was just blowing off steam. But since you're here, I'd like to ask that you take me to your boss."

Haku nearly pulled the senbon out of its hidden holster on a reflex, but was momentarily stunned by the suddenness of his request. "And why would I want to do that?"

"I just wanna see him, dattebayo," Naruto replied, "I mean, looking at how badly hurt Kakashi-sensei was after our last fight, I'm pretty sure Zabuza and Fortune are still in no condition to fight just yet either, so he may as well humor me."

After taking a few seconds to mull over Naruto's points, Haku sighed before pulling her hand back out of the basket. "Very well, but you'd better be on your best behavior."

The trip through the wetlands was a silent five minutes as the trio followed a path that Haku used to go to and from the safehouse without encountering any monsters. The complex itself was disguised as a single-story cabin used by people that got lost in the wilderness, but Haku knew that there were more rooms and facilities below ground. It a design that combined subtlety with security; if people weren't fooled by the cabin above, then the underground complex could withstand anything short of a persistent monster attack.

"Just so we're clear, we'll be watching both of you," Haku warned, raising her hand to knock on the front door, "If either of you make any trouble, there _will_ be consequences."

"Will you relax, dattebayo?" Naruto countered, "I'm not interested in fighting your master; I just wanna talk. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd be a little more receptive with a good meal. Now before I go in there, do you have anything I can cook with?"

"Nothing much," answered the imposter ANBU, "Just a small kitchen and a lot of ration kits. Why?"

"Well then it's a good thing we came prepared," Taeko chirped.

Haku glared at Naruto and Taeko suspiciously before turning her attention to the wooden door, knocking on it in a certain pattern. The eyehole slid open, revealing a pair of familiar blue eyes looking down on them for a moment before creasing at the corners with glee upon seeing Naruto. "Why Haku, I didn't think you had it in you; and with the enemy and his kitty, too! Should I tell Zabuza to arrange a shotgun wedding for you?"

"First off, I have no idea what you're talking about," Haku fired back, "And secondly, he's not my date!"

"Well perhaps I can show him what a _real_ woman can do," Fortune teased, laughing as Haku turned red from embarrassment, her jaw hanging as she couldn't find the words to say, "I'll let you in. But in all seriousness, I'd get him now before another girl does: he seems like a keeper."

As Fortune shut the eye-hole, Haku heaved a calming sigh as her complexion returned to normal. "I'm sorry, she likes to play matchmaker a lot."

"No probs," answered Taeko, "We've seen a lot of it back in our guild branch."

The locks on the door opened with a dull metallic 'click' before it was forced open from the other side. Fortune wore more modest clothing consisting of a small shirt over a sarashi that barely held back her generous bust, and a pair of shorts that went down to her knees. She also wore a belt with holsters for her firearms to be drawn at a moment's notice. "You be on your best behavior now," she said, her threat unspoken as she closed the door behind them.

Haku pressed a free hand on the wooden floor to reveal a descending stairwell. "This way."

The two shinobi and Palico descended the stairs with Fortune tagging close behind. The first thing Naruto saw upon reaching the bottom of the stairs was a bedridden Zabuza glaring at him. "You've got a lot of balls coming here kid," he said, "What do you want?"

"Nothing much, just to have a word with you," Naruto answered, "But before we do, why don't I cook something for you guys? 'Cause let's be honest: nobody can live on MREs and soldier pills alone, and you three look like you need some _real_ food."

…

[Otohime's secret base]

Otohime sighed in relief as she relaxed at her table with a steaming cup of tea and hard-boiled eggs; it was hours past breakfast, but she'd always had a soft spot for eggs at any hour of the day. Despite her excitement, she needed to contain herself as she wasn't looking forward to the hassle of having to switch bodies too frequently, hence why she needed her break before throwing herself further into her studies.

"You seem to be in good spirits, Otohime-sama," Kabuto noted, walking into the lab with a small stack of papers in hand.

"I think I've just made a breakthrough in my understanding of the Hunters' chakra aura," answered Otohime, popping an egg in her mouth, "That the breakdown on Evertide's gear?"

Kabuto nodded. "The DNA reading on her club and armor all belong to a Rajang. Whatever they've done to graft organic material onto other solids is ingenious…and a closely-guarded secret from what I understand."

"Let's keep that on the back burner for now, I have that hypothesis I want to investigate," she said, taking a sip of her tea, turning her attention to the corpse of Venus Evertide propped up on a stretcher against the wall. The power source she'd used in her earlier demonstration to her protege was still connected to the electrodes in her neck with longer cables this time, with several chakra detectors placed at regular intervals away from her body. "Before we begin, do you have any throwing implements on you?"

Kabuto looked at his mistress, questioning her silently. "I always have senbon on hand, why?"

"I want you to throw one at that cadaver," Otohime ordered, her eyes on the corpse, "We're already going to be turning her in for some walking-around money, not like they're going to give us any less money for our troubles. So feel free to make kill shots if you'd like."

Sighing in resignation, Kabuto quickly drew a senbon from the satchel on the small of his back, and threw it with trained precision at a certain point in Evertide's neck. Confident in his technique, the bespectacled boy turned to inspect his handiwork: the heavy needle penetrated deep enough to go through the artery. Overall, it took no more than two seconds for the kill shot to be made.

"Carotid, not a bad choice," Otohime praised, nodding in approval, "Good penetration too…and that's without the aura active. Now, to add a little power…" As she said this, Otohime turned the knob on the power source, running electricity into Evertide. The chakra detectors began to power on, showing the amount of chakra the twitching cadaver was putting out in decreasing amounts. "…Now then, same spot for a comparison."

On command, Kabuto threw another senbon at Venus, into the other carotid artery, only to widen his eyes in surprise. While there was still penetration, the needle didn't go any deeper; where the previous senbon was embedded deep into the cadaver's neck, the last senbon was barely a quarter of the way in. "Interesting," Otohime noted, turning off the generator, "It seems that my hypothesis is correct: the chakra aura works like a barrier. It doesn't stop the Hunter from taking any damage per se, it only mitigates the worst of it; though I won't know for sure until we have live subjects for a more fair comparison."

"Do you have any subjects in mind for this?" Kabuto asked.

"Keep an eye out for more Poachers," answered Otohime, stroking her chin in thought, "I'll probably need at least five more _normal_ Hunters to see if this is the case…no, on second thought, try to get at least ten. I have a feeling that the barrier is only the tip of the iceberg for the aura's capabilities."

Kabuto bowed before his mistress from the waist. "How long until you begin your research into Rangers, milady?"

"Once we know enough about the baseline Hunter, we can commence the study on Rangers," Otohime said, a wicked grin forming on her face, "And I have a suitable subject in mind for my experiments."

At this, Kabuto looked up at Otohime, somewhat surprised. "Already? Knowing how rare they are?"

"Oh, he's the perfect subject for the experiments I have on my mind," boasted the scientist, giggling wickedly, "I can already see the possibilities of what I am going to do to him…or _with_ him. Besides, like Sasuke and his sister, he's the only _living_ subject that I could easily acquire at any time."

The reason Otohime couldn't get Itachi's Sharingan while she was with Akatsuki was because he was too powerful for her to even try. In the case of getting Ranger subjects, on top of how hard it was to find adult subjects -let alone _children!_ \- they were simply too much trouble to fight. It was for this reason that she didn't even bother trying to abduct either of the Moon Siblings when she had the chance; granted, she was confident that her odds were at least slightly offset in her favor against one of them, but fighting both tested her luck _and_ patience. Thus, in her eyes, a certain _younger_ Ranger's growth was every bit a worthwhile investment as a pair of powerful Uchiha twins, along with being just as easy to find.

As he stood up from his bow, Kabuto turned to leave. "I'll see if I can get you those Poachers."

"Take Kimimaro with you," Otohime suggested, as he passed the threshold, "He may be sick, but he still needs to stay on top of his game if he expects to be of further assistance to me."

"Yes, milady."

…

[Zabuza's safe house]

The three fugitives sat at the table, staring at the steaming dishes in front of them; each plate had a side of rice garnished with green onions sprinkled on top, and a small lemon slice. However, the main item on the dishes were the two (three in Naruto and Zabuza's case) large cuts of fish that dominated the majority of the plate. Each fish was covered in black pepper, and a drizzle of orange sauce, adding to the aroma that made everyone hungrier. Taeko, on the other hand, had a bowl of stew made from leftover bits of fish and preserved vegetables from the pantry.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Naruto asked, "Let's dig in."

Zabuza pulled down the bandages that covered the lower half of his face, using the provided fork to break off a piece of fish, before putting it into his sharp-toothed mouth. He had a contemplative expression on his face as he tasted the meat. "Not bad, kid. What fish did you use for this?"

"I cut up a couple stingray I found a little earlier in a creek," Naruto answered, the male nuke-nin nodding in recognition, "It was pretty hard, because it's my first time cooking them, but I found that the wings were the meatiest parts of the body."

"Pepper's wasted on this," Zabuza chided, sighing in disapproval, "Chili paste with green onions works best for this kind of fish. The spicy tartar sauce was a good addition though."

"Haku, I take that back about another girl getting him," Fortune noted, biting into her stingray, "If you don't want him, I'll have him!"

"As much as I'd like to continue this talk about dinner, we still have a guest," interrupted Zabuza, cutting off Haku from a response before turning his attention to Naruto, "Now you didn't just come here to feed us. What do you want?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "I want to make a deal with you."

"Say what?" Zabuza asked, staring at Naruto as though he'd just sprouted an extra head.

"You heard me, I want to make a deal with you, dattebayo."

"What makes you think we're going to accept the words of a stranger?" Haku challenged.

"Trust me, you'll want to hear me out before you refuse."

Haku and Fortune turned to Zabuza, who nodded back at them before waving Naruto to continue. "I don't know if any of you have been in town, but I'm gonna have to tell you that Nami no Kuni's not been doing well since Gato came," Naruto began, "Stores closing down, people out of a job, no law and order; there's just nothing to live for anymore. And from the look of things, that's just the way Gato wants it."

"That's a pretty good sob story and all, but what does it have to do with us?" Zabuza asked, biting into a piece of stingray.

"Well, if Gato's willing to go that far to get money and power that fast, what makes you think he's gonna honor his contract with you, dattebayo?" Naruto queried, earning a subtle fidget from Zabuza, "I mean, do you really think it's worth it to work for a guy like him? Judging by what I've seen and heard so far, I'm guessing he'd much rather kill you all while you're weakened from fighting us, than to hand you even a single mon for your services."

Zabuza stared at Naruto, biting hard into his stingray enough to almost bend the fork. "Let's get to the point, what do you want?"

"I want you to kill Gato, take the money he owes you, then get out of town," Naruto began, "And if you think you still have the energy to do so, I would say it's a pretty good idea to kill as many of his mercenaries that you can so that you can turn in their heads as a bonus. Of course, I wouldn't be making this deal with you for free; I'm gonna give you parts from the monster I just hunted as a down-payment, then I'm gonna hunt another large monster and give you its parts too."

"And what am I gonna do with monster parts?" Zabuza challenged.

Naruto smiled, and stepped away from the table to pull a storage scroll from the small of his back and unfurl it on the floor. After quickly finding the line he was looking for, he pricked his finger with a kunai and ran his blood over it, issuing forth an explosion of steam as he summoned the item. As the smoke died down, the fugitives saw a complicated-looking, two-handed weapon on the floor; it had a pair of axe blades on one side, and a large sword blade folded over in a hinge. Much of it was covered in blue scales, but the blades were all made of a bronze-like material.

"Meet my newest weapon, dattebayo," Naruto announced proudly, hefting the weapon in both hands before pressing a hidden switch to send the axe blades along the rail, locking in place with the sword blade, "She's an Aksa Switch; she was originally a regular iron Switch Axe, but I had her upgraded with Seregios parts after my graduation exam. She doesn't look like much, but sometimes simple and powerful is the way to go; plus, as long as I stay on the offense, she'll sharpen herself."

Satisfied with the demonstration, Naruto put the Switch Axe back on top of the scroll before flying through hand seals to seal it back. "Now imagine what you could do with those monster parts," he said, with a smile, "You could take them to a smith that knows what they're doing, and use them to improve your own weapons, or you could sell them to a merchant for a tidy sum, dattebayo. In the end, the choice is yours as to what you want to do with those parts."

"And if I refuse the offer?" asked Zabuza.

"Also up to you," Naruto answered, "But to be honest, I'm the type that hates to come back empty-handed. It really _is_ as easy as it sounds: if you accept the deal, our job gets easier, you guys live to get paid with a bonus for your trouble, and the people of the village will have a better life. Basically a win-win for everybody except Gato and all the thugs he's got on his payroll."

Zabuza quickly found himself the center of attention when Haku and Fortune turned to face him.

"So do we have a deal, dattebayo?"

…

 _ **A/N: Well, it looks like Naruto has once again shown his negotiation skills. And on top of that, he's caught Zabuza in a game of "Deal, or No Deal." Though I wonder whether anyone would take the deal that Naruto has proposed…especially when he doesn't tell you what he'll do if you refuse.**_

 _ **Other than that, we get more cameos, and learning a bit more about Hunter anatomy. On the subject of Otohime, I have a hard time deciding what she's going to do to (or with) the…younger Ranger she's interested in. It really is up in the air what I decide to do with that line of thought, though it's still kinda early in the game here.**_

 _ **As to the eventual Elder Dragon fight, I like to see this part of canon as the warmup before Naruto goes hunting for Elders. But don't worry, I have some epic Elder Dragon fights being planned in my head, including the aforementioned Mohran naval battle (not sure if Dah'ren Mohran is too sadistic). I may even have Naruto's first Elder Dragon hunt be against Teostra, possibly even Lunastra too if I feel sadistic enough.**_

 _ **As usual, do please give thanks to NorthSouthGorem for his beta-ing…and UnitedOsprey1991 for pre-reading. Give their works a read if you can.**_

 _ **Please review, and keep it classy, would you kindly?**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary/references**_

 _ **The passenger—I'm sure fans will instantly recognize him…**_

 _ **The Dios fight—basically a re-enactment of the 1969 "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match with George Foreman and Mohammad Ali, where Ali used the rope-a-dope strategy to beat Foreman.**_

 _ **The Brachydios—named after Dudley and Balrog, both of whom are Street Fighter characters. Not sure if fans would agree that Dudley would take a majority against Balrog though.**_

 _ **Ezio Auditore—the protagonist of the "Assassin's Creed" Ezio Trilogy.**_

 _ **The dinner at Tazuna's—very big items in any Chinese seafood restaurant's menu**_


End file.
